12-29-2006

The buttons for 2 and 0 on the numberpad on the right of my keyboard have got stuck together. I often spill coffee on this keyboard and it starts behaving in unexpected ways. Now if you press 2, 0 also gets pressed...and vice versa...most of the coffee spills on the numberpad coz I normally keep my coffee mug on the right, just near the mouse...and as I have my coffee...the cup goes ding-dong as it travels over the key-board to my mouth...

Thanks to the nice coffee machines at my company, I drink a lot of coffee all day...7-8 extra-large cups...Patiyala...When I drink something, I like them to be large drinks...coffee, daaroo, whatever...Quit Drinking (Daaroo) - My New Year Resolution!!! It has been one for the past few new-years, but this time I'll quit for sure ;-) It's different this time! 2007...2+7=9, 9th April my B'day...lucky year for me...Numerology rocks!

A guy has newly joined my company. He sits in the cubicle next to me. It's 2 weeks since he joined...Whole day he does bakwaas on fone...hifi Managerial stuff...resource allocation, employee motivation, task allocation, scheduling, logistics, estimations...But I must appreciate his diligence. On his very first day, he got all his basic fundas cleared. For example, I finished 2 years in this company day-before-yesterday, and I still don't know how to check my voice mail. I think there are hundreds like me in my company. But on his very first day, this guy finds out who's responsible for what, calls them up, asks them for all kinds of instructions, eats their heads...may have appeared stupid that day...but in the end, he knows how to check his voice mail. Voice mail is just an example. There are many other more important and interesting things that he figured out on his very first day.

He loves using words like bottleneck and bottomline which few software engineers can make sense of. And he has a very chaapu style of talking to ladies. All guys have a style of their own of talking to ladies...style in terms of way of talking, word usage, accent, voice modulation, topics of conversation...depending on what their concept of what females want is. This guy seems really impressive in that department.

Right now he is discussing an important issue with a project manager on fone...Of course I can hear only my neighbour's side of the conversation. And yaar, he is so loud, I cudn't help it...kaan mein ghus hee gaya sab kuch...aur sochne kee to purani beemari hai...

Let's call my neighbour as N...and the project manager will be PM.

The issue is that the PM does not want to take one particular girl in the new project that he's going to lead. The reason - she is too "chulbuli". He really used that word (N repeated it)! Can you believe it?

Now my champion N starts his Managergiri...and boss, he's too good at it...

Here he goes...

If you think she is not adequately motivated, I think it is our responsibility to motivate her. The major motivating factor for her is the possibility of an onsite assignment. If the person performs well we can always send him/her onsite. If it is a growing account there are always opportunities to leverage.

Onsite is only possible if the person meets the expectations of the manager. The person has to prove his potential to be considered for greater responsibilities like an Onsite opportunity which is also a reward for his/her work.

That girl is interested in .Net and VB. So .Net and VB are motivating factors. All is ok if you are basically agreeing to the idea of a trial.

What I want to ask you to do is, first u take an independent look on all these things...but keep in mind that we have every right to try a person for a month, and if the person is not delivering, then we can move the person out.
EXCELLENT!!!

Then N and PM discuss about the technical details of the new project.

N talks about the difference between C# and C++...JIT compilers...C++ compiles directly to machine code...said something about Borland C++, Turbo C++...mentioned MSIL...bahut kuch pata hai ise...stud banda hai...

Then some tips to PM on how to appear for the client interview:


Give them an assurance and confidence and show them the keenness to take challenges. Evaluate the technologies in parallel...u shud appear eager...raring to go and take on challenges. It's an interview, u have to sell u'rself to them...so don't speak casually. If u want to talk about motivation and bla bla bla, I can always do that. (He has a nice way of saying "bla bla bla"...very quick)

essentially u do more, u take more responsibility, u do better - u are always chosen for things...rule of life...
boss! this guy is amazing!!!

SaSaBaBa

Of all that I have ever heard about the Satya Sai Baba (SaSaBaBa) of Puttaparti, this one is the funniest...All the watches that he produces out of Air are "Made in Switzerland"...wow...so that's where he steals them from!!! matter-to-waves-and-back-to-matter...and nobody comes to know!!!

A lot of experiences, my sense of logic, and my own rationale for such things have thankfully turned me into an atheist. I don't deny the existence of a superpower...in fact, I am too ignorant, and so are all of us, of the reality...

But a Homosexual God who molests kids and produces watches of Swiss make by waving his hand in the air...that's too much to digest. ROTFL!!!

Was going through this article by Vir Sangvi on The Hindustan Times - The Truth About Sathya Sai Baba. It's a shame on mankind - the way these Babas are able to lure so many people. The confrontation of SaSaBaBa with PC Sorcar is very interesting. SaSaBaBa produces Sondesh, and Sorcar produces a Roshogulla in return...and SaSaBaBa is furious...

HEHEHEHE...Caught Behind!!!

And do u know, SaSaBaBa can predict the future! Wonder whether he knows that the world is going to end in 2012. Yes, that's true. According to the Mayan Calender. More on that some other time...

When I was in my 4th standard, I used to attend weekend-timepass classes called "Baal Vikaas". It was at one Aunty's house. 2 Didis use to come there and teach Satya Sai Baba's bhajans and slokas. One was Indira Didi, the other was...shaayad Pallavi...I don't remember. It used to be a one hour class on Saturdays at 3.00 PM. I attended it for almost a year. They used to teach some non-SaSaBaBa stuff too...like Saraswati, Ram, Hanuman, Good-Night, Good-Morning, before meals, before shower...slokas for everything. And some bhajans too, mostly non-SaSaBaBa...I used to sing well...

There were some games in the end (I once got a prize for coming first in the memory test)...followed by a story...Pallavi(shaayad) didi was good at story telling...all SaSaBaBa stories...

A nice prasaad was distributed in the end...along with Vibhooti (sacred ash). SaSaBaBa devotees have this weird and blind belief that SaSaBaBa Vibhooti can cure every disease...heal all wounds...if u have stomach pain, just eat some Vibhooti...if u've got any injury, apply this SaSaBaBa Vibhooti there...it'll be cured...

And you hear Sai Ram all the time. No Hi-Hellos...only Sai Ram Sai Ram Sai Ram...wishes, exclamations, gaalis...all Sai Ram.

we were once shown an album which had SaSaBaBa's fotos...all ages...at 14 (approx...memory not so sharp) SaSaBaBa left home and became baba! Very soon he got his patent hairstyle. Not sure who told him he is the reincarnation of Shiva, but he claims to be one.

The theory goes that Shiva had got a curse ( or vardaan?) that he'd be born thrice and do great deeds. The much reverred Shirdi Sai Baba was the first. SaSaBaBa is said to be the second by many. The third cud be me :-) I lost my hair. The chances are grim. A takla Sai Baba!!! May work!

One weekend at Baalvikas, we were asked to write letters addressed to SaSaBaBa. Anything. The Didis were going to Puttaparti to meet SaSaBaBa and to do some community service there. We were assured that those letters would be delivered to SaSaBaBa, and also that SaSaBaBa reads them...and the lucky kids get a reply - they told us. It sounded fishy to me...I did not know about pedophiles at that time...otherwise I cud have warned my fellow kids...may be that was the actual purpose of the BaalVikaas classes...to send good-quality kids to SaSaBaBa...Thank God I never got any offer for his Darshans. I was such a bright kid...there was huge risk...I realize now.

Well I did write him a letter...It was something like this:

Dear SaSaBaBa,

I don't have any faith in you. ("devotion" was the word I wanted to use...but inspite of thinking hard, I was not able to pull this word out of my mental depths so as to use it...strange, a lot of things are there inside our memories which we cannot recall) But people say you are God. Please show me some sign that will make me believe that you are one. I am waiting for your reply. If you are really God, then you can easily show me something...from wherever you are...

Sridhar

I never got any reply. That disappointed me. I quit BaalVikas. Soon most of my friends quit too. Anyway I had no Bhakti and all...we just went there for prasaad...and games...and prizes...I had one more reason...opportunities to sing in front of people...I was once a part of a group-song...sung in a function on the occasion of SaSaBaBa's B'day...we sang Sai Pancharatnam...Still remember a few lines...3 in fact -

Sauhadra varshaabhi raapoor yantam, smrite nola santam bhavantam muda
Dishaambhaasa yantam samaprema yantam tamonaasha yantam dharalambanam
Moham tada krodha kaumari sangham kshane dhwansa yantam cha sai shivam

Don't remember their meanings...the Didis had explained each word to us...Now when I read the lines above...I'm able to make sense of some of these words...they really seem to praise that guy heavily...I feel sorry for having sung all this like an idiot for that jerk...

I used to be such a God-fearing person when I was a kid. For all my decisions, I used to go and look at Gods' fotos and try to see a smile on their faces. If I could see a smile, I took that for an approval of my decision. I had one SaSaBaBa foto too. That was always smiling...always approved my decisions...hehe...I also used to pray a lot. 10 minutes of prayer in front of all major Gods before going to school...asking for a lot of things...full marks in all unit-tests, half yearly exams...and final exams...always a first rank...happiness for mummy, daddy, sister, brother...and asking god 4 times to give me all that...3, I believed, was God's favourite number (like we bajao the ghanti 3 times in temple)...and the 4th time was just an extra, in case God missed one of them...hehehe...and the night before the school results every year, I used to stay awake all night and pray for a first rank...

hehehe...Well, I had a detailed theory on how to pray the right way...but all that, some other time...

In 11th class, most of my hair fell...mera bhagwaan se vishwaas uth gaya...and I turned into an atheist :-)...there was another reason...the deeper I went into Physics and Mathematics, the more the feeling that "God is crap" got strengthened...At least God in the form our religions preach cannot be real...God is something we have not even imagined yet...The creator cannot be an elephant-headed being with 2 wives who lives in the clouds (our satellites cud have got his snap if he had been there!!!)...We are yet to totally grasp the vastness of the universe...and whatever lies beyond...God cannot be so human...There are many other animals on earth...we just happen to be the more intelligent ones at present...imagine, there are more bacteria than us...do they have a god? A bacterium? In the microscopic world in which they live, may be even humans are a rare species...many may not even come accross one in their lifetimes...even our bodies contain so many microbes...what is the universe for them? A life form that has not seen anything beyond our insides has no idea what stars and moon are...can it even see anything? We are so human-centred in our thoughts...why should god take a human-like birth? Was Ram a Dinosaur in a previous birth? coz there were no humans on earth for hundreds of millions of years of the earth's history...the creator is definitely not human...he created so many other animals first...

There are huge depths of oceans still unexplored...somewhere there might be something that governs all our lives...hmmm, Well, sorry for the digression...

We don't know the true meaning of our existence. But that does not mean that we start believing whatever we are told, just for the sake of believing something...just to feel protected...just to rest assured that there is someone who loves the good and punishes the bad...

Let's come out of all this drama. Let's live for eachother...let's love eachother...let's have rules which beautify our lives...the ultimate goal should be human betterment...not blind following of rituals...not blind faith in any baba...look into the skies...there is a lot to make sense of...if we could just open our eyes...

...

I am having weird thoughts these days. Just a little while ago, I had a strange feeling. As I looked around, I imagined that I could see everyone in the office, and nothing else; that somehow I could choose what I saw. Somehow everything else would be filtered and my eyes will show me only that particular thing. And then sitting in this cubicle, I chose to be able to see all humans and nothing else. The image that formed in my mind as a result was wonderful. There was a grid of humans hanging in the air...3-D...many guys above me, in the upper floors, and many below and many at my level. Most of the people were in sitting postures, both their hands held in front of them...their fingers moved up and down and the eyes were all fixed on the nothingness in front of them...There were some guys walking, some just standing. I could see the bottoms of many shoes (I chose to see people in their clothes...hehe...)

As I looked afar, there were more people...all hanging in space. All seemed to be doing something. The hands, legs, bodies moved in weird fashions. I thought a little more...

I could not see the earth as well, there was no sky, no stars...The earth was a huge bunch of people hanging in space. There was something round in between, the earth itself, invisible, that separated people from one end of the globe and the other...from falling towards each other. I am not sure whether my eyes have the ability too see people so far away as the people at the other diametric end of the earth. There definitely was a spherical barrier I could notice as I looked down coz there were no people below that.

My hands could feel a lot of things...I could feel a box in front of me...A chair underneath...I got up...Nobody noticed me...I could see everyone...I tried to walk a little...people under me, people above me...I felt there was a path between 2 rows of people...I walked along that...I hit a wall...I turned...

A friend of mine, let's call him Shoonya...I told him everything about the limitations of my vision...He put things to eat in my hand...I ate them...I had to survive...He guided me when I had to move on the road...Saved me from being hit by vehicles...I did what he told me to...I ate what he gave me, I shit where he asked me to...I drank invisible water...

Then I started wondering, what if Shoonya wasn't there...what if there was no one like Shoonya...what if everyone was like me...I pondered more on that...

We would all have been humans hanging loosely in space...that's from the visibility point of view...but our sense of touch told us that there is a lot out here...and around...

Not sure how we would have evolved under those circumstances.

We wud never have had paper, pens, the wheel...at least in the visible form. I guess wheel could still have found a use...we cud have vehicles...invisible vehicles...moving on invisible roads...made smooth...what wud we get when we dig...go on digging...u go deep down...earth that can be seen through...the sense of touch would tell us that the temperature increases as u go deep...we'll have to stop beyond a point...could be a confusing situation...we dig a ditch...we cannot really see it...how do we spot it when we come back...may be drop a man inside to sit at the bottom just to show that there is a way to go that deep...

think more...

what would happen when a human being dies...not sure...he'd turn invisible? If not then we could use dead humans to make things visible. Tie some human material all over something and it would be visible. We could make roads, vehicles, tools everything visible like this. But not sure.

What about other living creatures on the earth. We couldn't see them. We'd be killed easily. Horrifying to see eaten human remains inside another animal.

we wouldn't know what seeing anything else means. What if we were a blind species?

Our concept of reality is formed by what we sense...and an extrapolation into what we cannot...and sometimes our theories and numbers too lead us to such conclusions which we cannot sense...to be verified when we might develop the power to sense them one day...directly or indirectly...

what about now? Are we seeing the reality? Are the 5 senses the only possible ways to sense anything? What are our limitations? I don't know if these questions can be answered...There could be a lot going on right in front of us, which we are unable to perceive...There could be something beyond mathematics, physics and chemistry that governs things...

I close my eyes, I see dots...lots of them.

my GMAT exam

GMAT is an easy exam. Though that depends on the examinee, it is no where close to CAT in spinning one's head.

I started my GMAT preparation by joining all GMAT related communities on orkut. I was happy to find many chupa rustam's of my company in there. I went through some of the posts on them, and also on pagalguy.com.

People ask funny questions on these forums -

can I prepare for GMAT in 2 weeks?

anyone from Pune giving GMAT? Let's meet and discuss... (such guys are here only and only looking for chicks to date. Even for me, that's one of the reasons why I join those forums but I never dare to make such posts...aur dating! hai dayya...kabhi nai...)

I gave my GMAT today...scored 750...Q-51, V-40...I studied OG-10, and joined Payal GMAT Coaching at Chinchwad Pune (if this post comes from a girl, all the guys will actively congratulate her, and ask for fundaes...)

(and some hopeless cases) I scored 570: Q-40, V-24, AWA-3...I am very disappointed...it was a bad day...please tell me which US BSchools I shud apply in (if this post comes from a girl, all the guys will try to kuchi-kuchi her...some will even name a few schools for her to apply...even US has gali-mohallas...)

I hated preparing for GMAT. All silly maths...problems like two taps A and B, A fills baalti in 5 mins, B in 4 minutes, both opened together, A closed after 10 minutes, B after 20 minutes...baalti has a hole at the bottom...water goes out and empties the baalti in 30 minutes...when will the balti be full if Shahrukh Khan opened the taps together at 12.00 am IST? How silly!

There is english which involves Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning and Comprehension Passages...I tried to prepare a little by solving questions from the Official Guide (OG), 10th Edition...soft copy...but hamaar angreji to jaisan hai waisan hee rahi...

Preparation didn't help much...I went to Mumbai to take the test. It was at Solitaire Park in Chakala...19th July 06, Tuesday. At the centre I met an angrej guy. Didn't ask his name. It was the rainy season...I said Hi...He said Hi...then I said thank god it isn't raining...just tried to start a conversation...stammered once...he said - yeah, when it rains it rains like cats and dogs...I cud feel rings circling over my head...what have cats and dogs got to do with rains...anyway, I had eaten a sandwith and had 2 cups of tea before the test...something happened...while solving the english section my stomach started doing gurr gurr...things were moving up and down...lot of sound...all the test takers started looking at me...my stomach was disturbing everybody...I felt so embarrassed...20 mins wasted becos of that... :-(

I managed a 700+ score...the cats-and-dogs guy got 570...he was sad...angrej guy...he will do something...

felt like posting my score on one of those forums to impress chiks...but then there were too many chiks posting 750+ everyday...and many guys with 750+ too...I ditched the idea...

Poem Poem

Life was different when I was a kid
I used to be more in the open
See the little beauties of nature
See butterflies on flowers
See flowers on little plants
Flowers of various colours
of various sizes
How easy it was to give life
to a stem of rose
by planting it in the soil
magical it seemed
to my little eyes
to see it grow
the first flower was a treat to watch
and waiting for it was a beautiful experience
how i used to water it each day
how mom used to tell me
don't water too much
excess water kills the plant
for it was in a pot
how enchanting it was
to gift the first rose to mummy
to tell all my friends
that my plant had borne a rose
a real rose
I gave life to it
it was my kid

Does this qualify as poetry?
I'm not sure.
HEHE!

VOA BBC

Listening to the VOA News webcast as I'm writing this blog. Lot of information pouring in. In Mexico, this guy says, the Santa Claus wears a green costume. Everywhere else he wears a red one. The reason, he doesn't know.

Someone from India requested a romantic song to be played for his girl-friend. A song sung by Celine Dion. Wonder who'd bother to call US from India and request for a song to be played on VOA. Socho, it is not Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM. Definitely software guy. Misusing company facilities. A lot of my friends do that. I don't :-)

Las Vegas is the number one tourism destination for International Travellers in the US.

Sala another song. Bolta kam hai gana zyada bajata hai. May be this not the right time for VOA. Let's switch to BBC.

BBC is louder. I had to decrease the volume....The news reader is stammering.

Indian News!!!! Dalits pay homage to Baba Saheb Ambedkar on his 50th death anniversary. The Kanpur statue desecration issue mentioned. Indian correspondent, Zuber Amir in Mumbai - giving background of caste system in India, practices of untouchability etc....LTTE news...2 Palestinians shot by Israelis at Gaaza...this issue can give takkar to Kashmir issue...

A hospital in Malaysia refuses to release the body of a man whose religious identity is not clear....whether he was a Muslim or a Christian. The man, some Anthony, was originally a Christian. He converted to Islam in 1990 but converted back to Christianty in 1999 without informing the Muslim authorities, which refuse to allow him to be buried in the Christian way. Now it's not clear how to perform his last rites.

Bush has lost support from the American public for the war with Iraq. Sectarian violence in Iraq...

The teenages in Britan say that they don't feel trusted by their parents generation. But teenagers in India say that they like to take their parents' opinions. Russian and Georgian teenagers love arts and literature. Palestinian teenagers are scared to go out freely. Anybody can be shot any time. The program is called Generation-Next and connects teenagers all over the world. It's great...

1540 GMT - Latest Business News

More money to be spent on education in Britain to compete with fast growing economies like India and China...hahahaha...very true!

Overall National security (of Britain) budget $3.9 bn next year. Has increased tremendously over the past few years.

3.5 years after banning smoking in public places in New York, the New York health authorities are in news again. Trans-Fats, they say, increase the risk of heart attacks. So, Eliminate them in oils and food products...July deadline. Restaurant owners say that the deadline is unrealistic.

Sports News. ICC calls Pakistan to change drug policy. Pakistan's regulations are inconsistent. ICC asks PCB to reverse the ban on Shoaib Akhtar coz the players were not informed that the steroids they consumed were banned.

wah wah, no interest in sports news...bye bye, time for dinner!

:-(

This cubicle sucks - each micron of it. I have been sitting here for more than a year now. Same shitty place. All my neighbours have changed 2-3 times. More than once, I was lucky to have a female neighbour. One of them even used to talk to me once in a few days and also used to smile as she talked. Very few get this lucky in Geometric. We have an HR Manager who smiles all the time. Even when she gives gaalis she'll smile. She cries with a smile on her face...must have scared the entire hospital when she was born...baby who cries and smiles...