Life is Random

Following STS-125 (Hubble servicing mission 4)

2009-05-23T23:30:00.007+05:30

I have been interested in astronomy since last 4-5 years but never followed it astutely.
My interest more so was in Cosmology rather than direct astronomy.
This interest resurfaced with zeal and vigour as I was disturbed that I did not have any other activity, be it art, sport,music etc, to indulge in outside of my work domain.

This culminated in me attending astronomy public outreach programs conducted by Khagol Mandal ,Mumbai . It was a great experience to pinpoint the constellations and stars.

I had earlier seen the images from Hubble Telescope. This time with more interest I was in awe after I read up on Hubble. To match this the servicing mission 4 for the Hubble, STS-125 wstarted in May 09. The servicing mission proposed to replace the aging instruments on Hubble with newer advanced instruments.
This would enhance the longevity of the Hubble Space Telescope and it would run for another 5- years. The mission is numbered as STS-125.
It has been exciting to follow the mission status with the progress of the servicing and the spacewalks. As of this writing the repair mission has been completed successfully and the shuttle Atlantis with the 7 member crew is preparing to land at Kennedy Space Centre.
The status can be followed on the various links below

http://twitter.com/NASA
http://twitter.com/HubblePAO
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/hst_sm4/index.html

Also there is great coverage of STS-125 on CBS news

The day I travelled to Airavali

2009-01-23T10:01:00.002+05:30

It was by chance that I noticed the destination on my train ticket. I was travelling to Airavali my workplace. Never thought Airoli ( a suburb of Navi Mumbai) was known by this name.
The Indian Railways site for Season ticket booking also lists Airoli as Airavali.

Wish it was some mythological destination rather than the dusty, concrete jungle that it is

Whew!!!! No end of the world (LHC experiment)-1

2008-09-16T10:49:00.005+05:30

I am referring to the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) experiment which started on September 10 2008. This experiment is being conducted by CERN the place where the WWW (World Wide Web) was invented by Tim Berners-Lee.
The LHC is a particle accelerator which means it smashes particles into each other at very high speeds. This experiment also known as the Big Bang project aims to re-create the conditions just after the Big Bang in an attempt to answer fundamental questions of science and the universe itself.
It will answer the following questions
What is the origin of mass?
Why do tiny particles weigh the amount they do?
It will also confirm the existence of Higgs Boson.

The experiments of LHC had sparked fears among the public that it would created microscopic black holes which would then gobble up everything and this would be the end of the world.
The scientists at CERN have run the experiments successfully and proven the fear of doomsday to be just a rumour.
These theories are really and warrants another post in detail later.

As for now no blackholes or strangelets so no end of the world

Down memory lane

2007-12-25T18:54:00.001+05:30

This Saturday I had the chance of visiting Fort after many months.
I had to visit the main Branch of HDFC to subscribe for the Tata Steel rights issue. It was Saturday so the usual office crowd was missing.
I reached very early and had to stand in the queue for about 10 minutes. Once the bank counters opened it was really a breeze. Kudos to HDFC bank for managing all this very well.
Now work done I had some time in my hand to roam.
Fort area in Mumbai is the downtown(in US speak) where all major corporate offices exist or use to exist. With the advent of the BPO and IT industry much of the action has shifted to suburbs. But due to the stock market in this area major banks and other old corporates like Tata's still have there corporate HQ's in Fort.
I started roaming the once familiar streets where my dad or my grand dad had worked.
These streets were familiar with old stucco buildings which had never changed since the last 50 years. I had worked here during my articled clerk days eating at the roadside stalls and sometimes in hotels.
Roaming those familiar streets I was struck with awe that little had really changed.
Some of the shops had vanished and these spaces were occupied by plush Tata Indicom and Reliance outlets. The stock exchange has been converted in to a Asian NASDAQ with a giant screen and a stock ticker.
I began searching for the usual eateries which me and my friends frequented.
Military Cafe(for Kheema pav and Beer)--I was a teetotaler and a veggie then
Dwarka (for usual lunch)
Coffee House(for its bitter coffee- which I did not like much back then and i use to ask for the sweetened one),Coffee house still exists as is (I use to work here in 1993-1996).It was a rule during the article ship days to take turns to foot the bill for everyone in office(normally not more than 10)after lunch for a simple coffee.
It was like i had fallen in a whirlpool of memories.
The book seller at the Fountain bus stop still lives with his ever burgeoning business.
This is where I had discovered books from Human Anatomy to Swahili Grammar.
Where else could you find a book on Swahili at dirt cheap prices.
I wound my way back from the narrow gullies passing by Pancham Puriwalla.
I had to get back home and attend to household chores and I returned happy yet vowing to spend at least half day to loiter on these streets like a vagabond again some day.

Where do you want to get to?

2007-12-25T18:32:00.000+05:30

Confused
Precisely the situation I faced for the past 1.5 months.
One fine hot and humid day I got frustrated and started to think about my future and the purpose behind shifting into a IT career. And I thought hard and started to look out for a change of job. Although I am in a win-win situation in the present job with respect to location, timings,salary(decent), I am not getting the so called required exposure and so a change was due. It is really difficult to get out of this comfort(lazy) zone.

Amidst a big renovation taking place in the house, I made a successful yet thwarted attempt to change job. And finally I am back to square one. I say thwarted because I consulted too many people on the options available and got confused and each opportunity was turned down.
Too many faces too many opinions.
Finally I have decided to follow my heart rather than my mind.
I aptly remembered this passage from Alice in Wonderland and hence the title

Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
`I don't much care where--' said Alice.
`Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
- Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Time flies.......

2007-10-02T19:55:00.000+05:30

Well, literally. It is unimaginable how fast the year has passed by and we are in the last quarter of 2007 and as I write this already 2 days of that quarter have passed.
It is the way we look at it. It is a year exactly when I made my first trip abroad to the USA.
But again when I look back to my 2nd trip to the USA and our office picnic to Panchgani it appears that it was just a few months back.

Perspective matters

Announcements page requested

2007-10-02T16:55:00.000+05:30

Every morning when the newspaper comes in particularly Times of India, the first news to hit my sleepy eyes is about some infrastructure development plan or Mumbai along with other news.
I am fed up with these developmental announcements and would like to make a humble request to all newspapers to publish a seperate page named "Announcements" or "Political Announcements".
Atleast this may give some extra paper to print some relevant news or more room for the letters from readers.
Just have a taste of some of the recent news/announcements or whatever you call.
Metro project to be completed by 2011
Mumbai to have monorail, lightrail and Maglev(great imagination)
Skywalks to be built around stations

I am confused, will it lead to a jam of rail bridges for different transport mediums.

Most of these projects are still on paper and those which have seen the light of the day have been delayed way past there initial deadline and has incurred serious cost overruns.
The Bandra-Worli sealink project has been going on for the past 8 years and still is incomplete with the completion date now in Dec 2008(hopefully).

At least the newspapers can ignore printing this announcements as news on front pages, as our politicians will not stop giving fake promises

T20 world champs

2007-09-27T00:46:00.000+05:30

Can you define the phrase "electrifying atmosphere". A mere definition in words will not suffice you have to be there to experience it. Well I am referring to the India vs Pakistan final in the first ever T20 cricket world cup. It all started at 5.30pm IST (actually even before that) on Monday 24th September. The office had become an abandoned place and lest for 5-10 poor souls engrossed in work all the others were in the canteen in front of the big projector screen. It was mass hysteria to describe the least. Everyone was cheering for even the single run and there were blood curdling cries really sounding like someone had been murdered , for a 6 or a wicket.
It went down to the wire with Pakistan letting it go from its hands and then suddenly jumping back into the game leaving us almost having strokes. Finally India won it.
When our men in blue where on a high with MSD(Dhoni) the Sensex was making new highs every single day. The sensex just crossed 17k and this 1000 points were surpassed in just 6 days.
Surely India is on a roll ..............................

Big Apple trip

2007-08-15T00:50:00.000+05:30

Actually this post should have been made earlier, but for my laziness and the so called urge required to blog which seldom arises. Better late than never.
In my 2nd trip to the USA I finally visited NY after almost considering all other major cities in the mid west, south and east--Miami,Las Vegas, Atlantic City,Orlando, NY and DC. Many were of the view that since I had been to Chicago, NY would be just another city. Paying no heed to anyone I decided to make the trip to the big apple. The weather had been very harsh the earlier weekend with temperatures going below zero and I had to spend the weekend cocooned in my hotel room. Luckily enough on the day I left for NY from Dayton the weather was superb (20-22 deg Cel). The Weather channel reported a very much normal day ahead and storms on Sunday. So I had 1 full day to roam NY and prove that NY was not just another city similar to Chicago.
I left Dayton on Friday 13th April via a short halt at Cincinnati to NY. I had already spoken to a college friend who resides in New Jersey and who eagerly invited me to stay over for the 2 days in his house. Intricate instructions were given by him to help me reach his place(Metro Park).
A week prior to my trip I was prancing on the net to find all the available info on NY, places of interest, modes of transportation and cost and also if possible visiting Washington.
To my surprise every place of interest, mode of transport or anything else had a web site with information to the minutest detail helping me plan my trip but also confusing me to no end.
The best guide is from NYtimes itself titled 36 hours in NY and barring the eating and drinking joints it gives a short summary of the places of interest and the commuting routes. Although the title says 36 hours it is divided into 3 days suiting all and sundry.
I could get only 1 day to roam around NY and I saw the major attractions,
A cruise on the harbour passing by the Statue of Liberty, Wall street ,walking through downtown, Ground Zero (was a waste) and Times Square (the best).
I thought I spent way too much time walking the streets in downtown(which was empty as it was a Saturday) and this time could have been effectively used in visiting one more place, Grand Central station.
To conclude NY resembled Mumbai in many aspects, the crowd, the hustle bustle, the water logging during the rains etc albeit you cannot ignore the cleanliness and infrastructure of the city.
Chicago was very much different proving many of my friends wrong. Chicago has a slight laid back attitude and yes the infrastructure and other amenities are more modern and better equipped than NY.

India @ 60

2007-08-15T00:38:00.000+05:30

India @ 60 is it old or raring to go after 60years? Frankly I am not 60 and so cannot comment the past years. Surely but slowly India has changed over the last 10 years. There has been a communications revolution and a computer revolution which has really brought India into the global limelight. India is improving day after day but the difference is never felt as the improvement is at a snails place.
We talk of cities (especially Mumbai-the financial capital) bursting at its seems and becoming unmanageable but the real India lies in the rural hinterland where development is a fading dot.
The economy is booming and we have a robust financial market but we lack the basic necessities
like infrastructure, education, and cleanliness. Corruption is still rampant with no implementation of policies. This needs to be cleaned up at lightning speed so as to make a mark in the global scenario, else India with a teeming young population will fritter away its core strengths.

Happy Birthday India

Bavra mann dekhne chala ek sapna..........

2007-04-22T20:53:00.000+05:30

I am returning back to India. Last time when I visited USA in the last 2 days whilst leaving I was obsessed with "Zindagi ke safar me guzar jate hai jo makam woh phir nahi aate..... woh phir nahi aate" from the movie Aap ki kasam. This time round I am obsessed by this
song Bavra mann dekhne chala ek sapna from the movie Hazaaron khwaishein aisi.
I had heard this song in India on Fm in the wee hours of night at 2 am and i found it so soothing that I wanted it to hear it again. I forgot about it after a day or two. Then it came back to haunt me again such that i had to somehow find it somewhere to listen to it. Google and the internet are your best friends in such times.
Now that i have found the link i have played the song more than 50 times in the last 2 days, and the more i hear it i find new meaning and melody in it.

Did I miss the bull run!!!!

2007-04-12T09:22:00.000+05:30

One fine morning in office I just decided to sift through the news through a newsreader.
I use google reader. I stood up when I saw this via google reader.(Check the prices of RPL and ITC in the image).

I was even more surprised when I saw that ITC had outpaced even Warren Buffet's stock Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

I am out of touch with the Indian stock markets as I am in the US, but surely not to such an extent :)

Something to write......................

2007-04-05T08:36:00.000+05:30

A lot has been happenning for the past 3 months that could have been blogged about but the inner desire to write a blog post has vanished. I started the new year with a resolution to write atleast 1 post per week and actually it is just a post per month or not even that.

I am back in the USA (Dayton, Ohio) for the 2nd time and am blogging from the hotel. I pondered and thought, scratched my head and finally decided to write something just to keep the blog going. Maybe a synopsis of the 3 months gone by.

January was the school admission month. I stood in long queues to get the admission forms in about 4 schools and finally Anish got through in one of the 2 favorites in our area. It was a ridiculous task thanks to the Indian government whereby education is a business rather than a public service. No matter how much I fretted and fumed I had to stand in the queue from 5am in the morning for 3-4 hours. My kid also went through an interview, for which we prepared him in advance. And alas this was not the end as we kept our fingers crossed till the results were out.
Man, this was difficult than looking out for a job
January also saw a visit to Hyderabad for a week which was fun and also we had to return in a hurry, a day early than scheduled due to the admissions. This entailed coming by flight and my sons first trip on a plane. Hyderabad is a nice place with many parks and places to visit. The Salarjung Museum was amazing especially we had a chance to witness the display of the Nizams jewellery collection. The jewellery collection had all types of precious stones studded in necklaces and crowns. Majority of them where diamonds,rubies and emeralds, also some where uncut precious stones. However one display caught my attention, it was a diamond (forgot the name) displayed seperately. The information about this said that it was used as a paperweight
by the Nizams. Awesome!!!!!!!

February saw me getting busy in training as a part of our mandatory performance review.
I covered PL/SQL and Unix in about 10 days although both were seperated apart.
My first live concert (Roger Waters--Pink Floyd- already blogged) attendance was also fun although I felt the tickets were priced high and wished I had been a wee bit taller(maybe by 2-3 inches) as I had to sometimes stand on my toes to look at the stage and my foot pained in the end. An onsite(USA) trip in March also materialised .

March entailed a picnic to idyllic Panchgani with the office team. The place was unimaginable on a cliff with 5 tents equipped with beds and all the amenities for the much required bio breaks.
It was a 2 day trip and we enjoyed it with the resolve to go on more such outings in the near future.
The flight to Dayton was delayed by 6 hours and all this caused a delay of 1 day to reach destination. I travelled by Air India (our national airline) which sucked big time. I think the Maharaja needs a revamp at the earliest. Luckily Air India arranged for hotel accomodation for the night (part of the night as i reached the hotel at 2.00am).
This was my 2nd visit to Dayton and the excitement of the first time was absent.
I was occupied with work for the first 10 days(including weekends) so did not have much of a problem as to how to spend time. Now I am sitting in the hotel room surfing the net as I cannot go out as the temperature outside is -3 deg celsius. Maybe in the evening I may go out and take a short walk. These temperatures are abnormal for April and hopefully the next week seems marginally ok.

The great gig in Mumbai-Roger Waters live

2007-03-05T17:05:00.000+05:30

Sunday 18th Feb 2007 will go down as a great day in my memories. It was "us and him".
Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd) had a live concert in Mumbai. It was also my first live concert. I had missed his live concert in Bangalore in 2002.
I cannot say missed in the literal sense but it was not possible to attend the concert due to various myriad reasons e.g non-availability of time, traveling to Bangalore etc.
This time round I was dead sure that I would not miss it as all the cards had fallen into the right place(time,location,money etc). The tickets were expensive but i really did not care about it.
The concert was fantastic although I wished I had taken the highest priced ticket, where there was a more clear view.
He played the usual concert favorites
"Shine on your crazy diamond"
"Wish you were here"-(A tribute to Syd Barrett-Original founder of thr group Pink Floyd).
A new track I heard was "Leaving Beirut" were the Bush administration and in general the US were criticised.
After a painful 15 minute break he played my favorite - whole one side of the
"Dark Side of the Moon" album . I am especially fond of " Breathe" and "Time"
He ended here abruptly and I was disappointed as no "The Wall" track had ben played.

Surpisingly the whole band came back to the loud chants of Once more to play
Another Brick in the Wall and Comfortably Numb

The concert ended quite early by the normal live show standards.

I got hooked to Pink Floyd's music very early, when I was just 17. I knew nothing about English or Rock music then with the only known bands being BoneyM (because they toured India), Michael Jackson(as he was in the news) and Madonna( for all the wrong reasons).
Those were the carefree college days when you had all the freedom and no responsibilities. My cousin, elder to me by 10 years introduced me to Pink Floyd and eventually "The Wall" album. I was fascinated by the sounds in DSOTM and with no other known group started accumulating all the cassettes when released. Surely after listening to all the albums Dark side of the Moon and Wall so many times , the tracks were etched in my memory and slowly there was a meaning to all those sounds and songs.
When I graduated and started working I lost a bit of interest in English music in general and started following more of Hindi music. So listening to Floyd after a long time really brought back memories of those carefree days.

And finally these lyrics(in part) are my all time favorite

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way


Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find, ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

An analysis of the DSOTM can be found here and a short quiz on Pink Floyd here

AC climate sweltering in between

2007-02-04T09:29:00.000+05:30

Mumbai, for the past month is experiencing a pleasant climate.
It is winter and the temperatures range from 26 deg celsius(day) and a low of 17-18 deg celsius(night). I always dream of such a climate throughout the year for Mum. I term this as AC climate. Traditionally November to February and maybe even first half of March was considered the best season in Mumbai, with low humidity and a nice breeze. But this period has been altered by global warming, El Nina/Nino and what not.
Suddenly in the midst of the bliss the last week saw the mercury rise to 35 and the humidity level shoot up causing health problems. Hope this ends and the AC climate continues through Feb 07.

Banning youtube

2007-01-15T15:31:00.000+05:30

I was seriously irked by this Times of India article.

Can we ban youtube?. Yes we can if we want to return back to the Stone Age. Surely we ban youtube then blogs and then even chat just because some person posted a video or commented on a blog about a great Indian personality. And yes as we return to the stone age we will be devoid of any competition. We wont be compared to China,Brazil etc anywhere.
Surprisingly enough this news only appeared on the headlines of the TOI and i could not locate it in any other newspaper.

The govt needs to focus more on healthcare,infrastructure,education and not stiffling each individuals right of expression. Banning the offensive video in question would serve the purpose.
Surely there will sites like pkblogs for videos or if there arent any they will surely mushroom as a result of the ban.

New year and a post finally

2007-01-01T22:24:00.000+05:30

Happy New Year.
A day to make new resolutions (so they say) -which will not be achieved even in 365 days and probably will be pushed as next years resolutions. Why do we require the 1st day of the new year for making resolutions?. If one really wants to achieve anything it can be decided upon anyday.
So be it, each one has his/her own ways.
After saying all this the first thought that came to my mind in the morning was to look for a suitable to-do list preferably online. There are many such sites on the web. This review helped me to choose one from the 25 reviewed. So I have a list at backpackit.
I had an idea that I post in my blog everyday--which could include (as I am lazy ) just a simple link, or just a sentence or two about life or my rants and ramblings on life or a full bodied post which makes my point through. This would make 365 posts for the year and maybe my blog would atleast have some ranking on technorati, maybe the most regularly updated blog (with crap).
Ha Ha, Here I am, after a week into the new year, too lazy to just post a link also which is just a copy and paste operation and does not involve any key punch operations to hurt my fingers.
So the first lazy links,news,views and questions
Who or What is a dorkbot? I came across this term in article in Wired which lists top 10 tech towns.
In simple terms dorkbot refers to a group of affiliated organizations that sponsor meetings of artists,engineers and designers who work in the field of Electronic Art.

In the news
The gruesome Noida killings rock the news since last week. I am surprised as to why the proceedings to identify what has exactly happened and who is to be blamed is taking such along time. This episode is in the news for the past 15 days and there has been no conviction against the culprits. This is Incredible India for you.
The Chief Ministers brother Shivpal Yadav quotes these killing of children as
"Choti moti ghatna". This is sheer disgrace. Tomorrow if the ministers kith and kin are kidnapped there will be no inquiries and the culprits traced and punished immediately.
This is again the same incredible india.

Harry Potter and other old comics

2006-12-21T17:28:00.000+05:30

Recently I have been reading some fiction. For the last 5 years I had never looked at any fiction book as my sole interest had been technology books and that to only programming and computers. I piled up all types of techie books but never got the time to read, also with these techie books you need to really write programs and practice to get a hang of it which was not possible due to lack of time.
I was an avid reader of fiction during my college days when books were available in libraries only and the computer was a machine to be used in offices and big organisations to improve productivity.
My interests in fiction ranged from Agatha Christie, Perry Mason to Robert Ludlum,Sidney Sheldon etc. I enjoyed Sidney Sheldon the most
Upto the age of 18 I also devoured comic books. Amar Chitra Katha for Indian mythology and Indrajal Comics for other fiction like Phantom and Mandrake. Besides Phantom and Mandrake I devoured TinTin comics most.
Now in the early thirties I have again become interested in witches,wizardy and stories of that kind.
I watched Harry Potters first movie and was interested to find out why Harry Potter has become a phenomenon the world over among young and old alike. I brough the 1st book Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone and started devouring it. Although a little slow read I was overwhelmed by the number of characters presented. To sort out the confusion and avoid looking back and searching about a character I searched for a random charcter for information in Google. I landed at the found hp-lexicon. This site is awesome, detailing the life and times of the author and also detailing to the minutest the whole wizarding world of Harry Potter. Now I have become a true fan of Harry Potter and here I go for the 2nd book.

Google at it once again
Google has always been at the forefront of innovation and has rolled out some great web based tools and software. Be it a spreadsheet,word processor or photo management. Google also has specialized searches for microsoft, linux, bsd, apple and now it has started a patents search for searching US patents. This is just awesome.

Innovative blogging

2006-12-21T17:18:00.000+05:30

The internet has become a sort of staple these days without which one(includes myself) cannot function. May be it's just-for-fun surfing without a purpose or surfing with some specific information need. And as you wander around the blogosphere and surf through the labyrinths of the internet you stumble upon some really good links.
Clicking through various links from inside various blogs I found these 2 blogs which I felt is an innovative and even informative way to post to blogs.
Instead of posting your daily happenings or news and links why not post some links or some questions and answers to increase your knowledge and of other readers if any.
My Link List --- posts 2 or 3 links a day but really good links, not the usual news and reviews stuff
Ten Things I Didn't Know Until Last Week----- 10 questions and answers every week, like a General Knowledge quiz. This the blogger says is inspired by BBC's column of the same name but in a different format

Hockey shocker

2006-12-07T17:18:00.000+05:30

After the recent debacle in cricket there is another shocking sports debacle China defeat India 3-2 in hockey at the Asian games.

Rightly reported by The Afternoon despatch and courier as
India plunged to the depths of despair after being made to eat humble pie by an unfancied China
Seriously, I have never followed or tracked hockey as much like cricket or tennis.
Even football arouses my interests during the world cup. This news certainly shocked me and kept me wondering why our national sport is Hockey.
Cricket is a religion in India and in Mumbai atleast, there is no other recognised ground sport.
India is already in the dumps with hockey with other nations Netherlands and Germany and even Australia mastering the game.
The recent debacle in cricket raised a furore in the parliament which even Farmers suicide or bad infrastructure could not raise.

The daily grind

2006-11-19T10:15:00.000+05:30

Back in India after a very good first trip to the USA, I find myself settling down cozily in the daily grind that is life, so much so that a post to this blog requires some stimulation or rather inspiration.

Finally I dragged myself from the run of the mill (which will exist anyway) to just write a post which may seem like unorganized and written at the spur of the moment.

Now what do I write, the much delayed Chicago and Niagara tour posts, current affairs with links pointing to the web, personal happenings -which is the never ending loop--family-office-family and nothing more, or something spontaneous which would be a mixture of everything above.
Yes, it has to be spontaneous. So here goes.

Reading a friend, Sanjeev's blog I came to know of 100words.net which coaxes you to write about something in not more than hundred words everyday. It is difficult to put your thoughts through in just 100 words but it is worth giving a try maybe I can manage a shade above 100 words, maybe I can try to write about my Chicago or Niagara trip in 100 words.

It was my first visit abroad and I found the United States to be really neat and clean with all the conveniences. I just put this at the back of my mind as I found that the Indianness with all its religious and cultural fervour was absent. My colleagues working in the USA have kids born in the USA and although they understand their mother tongue they reply or talk in American English. The real difference was felt when I returned back to India and was towing my baggage while exiting the airport, I felt a trickle on my temple, it was a drop of sweat (which leaks out of your pores just like that without any effort-in India) and I realized that I had landed in India.
I had not sweat for a whole month!!!
After 2 days in India and travelling for daily chores within Mumbai I found my own country to be hot and dirty and it was as if on my first trip abroad I had tasted first blood.

I went to Pune the next weekend. Pune has had a soft corner in my mind mainly because it is an IT destination and it has a very good climate. This visit proved to me that the craters on the moon were no different from the roads in Pune. A main thoroughfare like Karve road was like riding a boat (maybe the boat in the rough seas was nuch smoother). I kept wondering how it became an IT destination. The climate and the laid back lifestyle is still a plus factor.

Amidst writing this blog I almost forgot that my other blog remains unupdated for a long time and I need to update it.
Also need to mention that I am the proud owner of a Canon A630 and a Sony Ericsson K750i

Last 2 days in Dayton

2006-10-28T21:14:00.002+05:30

It is 10/28 and 12.00noon here in Dayton. I am going back to India tom
These are the last 2 days of my stay in Dayton. Guess what i just took a kishore kumar cd from a friend, thought I would listen to it as I had a day free as it was weekend and I started to this song from Aap ki kasam
Zindagi ke safar me guzar jate hai jo makam woh phir nahi aate..... woh phir nahi aate"
Is it pure coincidence, that I started to listen to this song at this time when I am leaving back for India?. I do not know but the opening music makes my mind go into a trance and maybe hallucinate, feels weird, eerie but soothing. Only the opening lines have some relevance to my situation here not the full song. I kept on listening to this number again and again thru the night. Any way its Kishore Kumar and its a great number.
Going home, Going home, Really long to meet Mrudula and Anish. Play with Anish and talk to him..................Going home,Going home........................
Reminds me also of the Simon and Garfunkel number "Homeward Bound"

Freezing cold-Dozing off

2006-10-25T23:43:00.000+05:30

I have not updated for the last 15 days. I am still in the USA and it's been very cold here in Dayton. I decide to update my blog and really doze off in few minutes and really dont want to get off the bed.
There is lots to write about My Chicago trip, My Buffalo/Niagara trip and meeting old friends.
Will do it sooner or later I hope.
Till then those of you who really follow this blog( I hope someone does!!!:)) hold on....

Dayton update-upto Day 8

2006-10-12T01:56:00.000+05:30

It is cold here in Dayton and there is a freeze watch for Thursday night going upto Friday morning. Now what is a freeze watch. According to Weather.com
A FREEZE WATCH MEANS TEMPERATURES AT OR BELOW 32 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT ARE IMMINENT OR HIGHLY LIKELY IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
This means temperatures could dip below 0 degrees celsius. Fortunately or unfortunately maybe i could see some snow.
What have i been doing all these days in America?
I have been visiting various places of shopping interest during the last few days and climate has been good. I have made it a point not to eat at the same place and try out a different places. Surely there are many more eating joints and restaurants than my number of days stay(27).
I have tried Arby's, McD(thats McDonalds), Chipotle(Mexican), Gyros(Greek/Mediterannean), Bahn Mai(thai), PF Chang(Chinese-Chinese not Indian-Chinese), Tacho bell, Subby's, Donatos pizza, and Amar India(Indian)
I ate subs(sandwiches),french fries,vegeterian pita, Ragin cajun chicken, Spicy chicken burrito,
Dang Dang noodles with chicken,salsa,etc.....................
I am guzzling lots of soft drinks -more that what I drink in a year in India.
It seems Americans have more ice cold drinks as it gets cooler and they dont drink tea and/or coffee. Coffee yes but it is black and bitter with little milk and sugar.

I visited the Dayton Mall which is the reason why Dayton exists at the first place as told to me by few people. This is a huge mall with loads and loads of shops for clothing and womens accessories. There are gaming zones and seperate shops for games stocking games for the regular pc to the Xbox/360,PS2,nintendo,gameboy etc.
I also visited a book store of Barnes and Noble. The area of that store was as big as our office
(Cap Gemini). I wasnt interested in buying any book as all these books are available in India with the local raddi wala(used books and newspaper reseller) for dirt cheap prices and I just wanted to have a look at it. This shop allows you to read any book sitting there and having coffee from Starbucks. It has books on any subject you can think of. Do you think coin collecting seems to be a weird topic to have books on, not at all this shop has more that 30 books on that subject. Books were arranged according to subjects obviously which included literature/fiction,
mystery,science fiction, new age(included spirituality, wicca and witchcraft), cooking,sports,
biographies, gay/lesbian,sexuality, crosswords/puzzles, references and on and on.
As expected in the computer section I found more Microsoft Technology books and many books for the Mac(u will not find them in India).
I was amazed with there periodicals and magazines section again divided into 12 sections (womens interest,mens interest,business,current affairs,sports,arts. etc). There must be around a 1000 magazines.
I watched 4 movies in the last few days Forrest Gump, Castaway, Red eye, The Island.
All were good movies except maybe Castaway which i felt dragged along and I myself felt like a Castaway- not on an island but in the hotel.
I have been fequently visiting sites which I would rarely visit when in India.
dealstobuy amazon, travelocity, Hbo, Google Maps, greyhound

Blogging from Dayton, Ohio USA

2006-10-08T19:38:00.000+05:30

I am writing this from a hotel room in Dayton,Ohio in USA on a Ibm T41 on a fast wireless connection. To be precise i am staying at the Hampton Inn on Old Yankee street in Centerville, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
Landed here on Oct 3 2006 @8.oopm.
First impressions-Very neat and clean, everything automated and online, Americans live life to the fullest with all the conveniences.
Dayton is very small and does not have a public transport system and you need to have a car to go anywhere and everywhere. That is a disadvantage for me and have to depend on someone always.
The hotel room is spacious unlike what u find in India. All toilets have hot and cold water with one system of taps (faucet as they call it in USA) everywhere. It is fully equipped big bed which can easily accomodate 3, 29 inch TV sets a iron and iron table a coffee maker with some coffee filters, fridge and microwave. Every floor has a softdrink dispenser and ice vending machine.
It is cold here as compared to Mumbai and for an indian specie like me coming out of a tropical climate it is sort of bad. The temperatures have been 20-22 deg celsius max to 4-8 deg celsius min.
This is my first international trip and as usual when u travel anywhere u forget something.
Yes I forgot to pack some books which i intended to read here and have to rely on my laptop and a cd which I burned with my online book collection.
Lets see if i can buy some here.
Now I have some time here so will try to hone my skills further.
I have been eating variety food for the last few days
Pizzas,McChicken,Veg Sub(sub is a sandwich), Dang Dang noodles, Chicken fried rice(not the Indian one), Vegeterian Pita, Gyros(Greek), Spicy chicken Burrito(Mexican).
I flew to the USA ---Mumbai-Milan-Atlanta-Dayton
In Milan I could see a confluence of various European ethnicities. Italian, Greek,Spanish,Czech Romanian etc. There are flights to everywhere in Europe, USA and Africa.
All in all agood experience lets say.

Milk vs Cola

2006-09-12T10:44:00.000+05:30

The Cola banning wars continue as each day some state in India gets ready to ban sale of cola.
The CSE report states that colas contain pesticide content. Why are we worried more with the cola's containing pesticide issue. Does everyone India really get potable water?. Cola does not even quench your thirst. Nimbu paani tastes even much better is really a refresher during summer.
This article in the TOI brought another point to the fore. Milk and other food vegetables contain more pesticides than in cola.
Swaminathan Iyer argues that milk and other food products which are recommended by nutritionists contain more pesticide than in cola and the as recommended are given to children who are in danger of contracting diabetes, anaemia in the future. He also points out that
" Humans are the only species to drink milk after being weaned from the breast. How do they achieve this feat? By drinking the milk of other creatures, something no other species does. Not surprisingly, drinking alien milk produces allergies and a host of other health problems."
I agree to this but India has an ancient connection with milk. Mothers have always coaxed children to drink milk due to its nutritional content.
Can milk be banned and can we resort to drink cola instead of milk?
Can the god drink cola instead of milk?
This will not happen atleast in the near future. Till then I will have my cola mixed with my favorite drink and hot milk with horlicks or drinking chocolate tastes yummy.

Seven point something(7.)

2006-09-04T23:30:00.000+05:30

Recently finished "Five point someone" by Chetan Bhagat. I would rate it at 7.1/2/3 hence the title of this post. I found the book a good read and as it is by an Indian author and I could easily relate to the story although I am no IITian. Also it is the first book I have read by an Indian Author as far as I can remember.
The next book on the block is "The Search" about Google. The are many books though (7 to be exact) -non techie i.e fiction and biographical lying in my house to be devoured when I get time.
I found these Amazon reviews for 5.someone where the book is ranked 1,007,629 in sales as of today.
Mediocre, like a hindi potboiler,abysmal
Interesting,Fun to read (agree with these).
The writing is surely school story book style but that is why it is readable and yes there is no backtracking(going back several pages while reading a book and tracing a character or event who has been sidetracked in the plot/story-I might have coined the term myself). Backtracking has some other connotations also.
I havent read any other Indian authors and surely need to try some others like Vikram Seth/Chandra,R.K.Narayan....etc
I found this link through the kitabkhana blog which mentions a book reading and signing event by Dr. Manjiri Prabhu who has written 2 books named
The Cosmic Clues and The Astral Alibi. The books are unique in the sense that "Scientific Indian Vedic Astrology" is coupled with investigative techniques in the stories.
Should be a good read I believe

Wikimapia

2006-08-29T11:07:00.000+05:30

Just marked my building on wikimapia a tool like google earth but was a wee bit faster.
It has some limited tools for magnification etc

Bad month July

2006-07-18T09:54:00.000+05:30

Well July it seems is a bad month for Mumbai. Last year it was the havoc caused by 5-6 hrs of rains and this year also it rained for 5 continuous days evoking the memories of 26/7/05-cloudburst.
Then came the desecration of a politico's wife statue and a bandh call for some hours. Luckily it was a Sunday.
Then the deadly 8 bomb blasts in the local trains on the Western Railway routes.
Local trains are the lifeline of Mumbai and are also an easy target.
I completed 1 year at my current job.

Waiting for rains and a new job

2006-06-16T17:44:00.000+05:30

Rains have not yet started. Rains came early this year i.e. on 30/5/06 and there was rain in the evening for 2 days and then its a dry spell. It is hot and humid. I have to search for a new job where i can get maximum exposure to oracle apps

Happenings-first 3 months of 2006

2006-03-18T23:44:00.000+05:30

Updating my blog after a long time. Did not find time (an excuse) or rather did not have anything to write about that would interest anyone.
On 14/2/06 finally I received my passport. This is the major event upto today. My brother is getting married on 26/3/06 and hence major part of these 3 months have been spent in preparations and gearing up for the same. Attending functions,purchasing etc,etc...........
I have bought lot of books recently especially fiction and have started reading it. The progress is a bit slow but atleast the interest has developed in fiction.
I also decide not to buy any further books till the time I complete reading atleast 2 books bought earlier whether techinical or fiction, but this seems impossible. Whenever I see a book which is a recommended read I buy it outright never thinking of my earlier resolution.
The next few days starting from 23/3/06 to 28/3/06 I may not have access to a computer.
The current job does not have anymore implementations which I want to do and as such I have to rethink and decide for a change.
The stock markets are booming and little bit patience in holding to stocks would have reaped huge profits. But as usual when there is considerable rise and I have some notional profit I lose my patience to hold and sell the stock and thereafter the stock rises even more. Now I am stocked up with stocks whose prices have reduced and my loss would be upto Rs.5000/-.
Need to do some fundamental analysis and invest in stocks with good potential for appreciation within 6 months.

Reflections -2005

2006-01-01T16:05:00.000+05:30

This is the first post for 2006. Happy New Year!!!
It is just a synopsis of the year gone by and to do things for 2006
2005-A synopsis(personally)
All in all a good year.

A job and also career change is the major event. Its almost 6 months that I am working as a Oracle Apps Functional Consultant and of course am enjoying it.
Applied for a passport (after many days of just thinking to do it) a direct result of the change in job, although havent received it yet and hopefully will receive it in 2006.
Travelled more than in 2004 officially as well as personally (Bglore,Nagpur,Raipur,Ganpatipule)
Oracle, Oracle and only Oracle that is what I am doing for the last 5 months.
Started reading and developing interest for fiction/non-fiction and sci-fi which was something different form the usual computer books that I have been accumulating and partly reading for the last 6 years.
Spent Rs.4000/-approx on computer books only during the year mostly new. Havent read a single book fully.
Blogged reasonably frequently. Did not let my blog die.
Opened a gmail account and also a del.icio.us account and now cannot even work without del.icio.us.

2006-To do

Renovate house
Open a bank account and make investments in my sons name
Complete lot of personal work (filing returns,personal investments,etc)
Concentrate on one programming language and learn it for the whole year.
Do some worthy course (OCA/OCP/ISA/CISA)
Read as many non-techie books as possible
Buy a new house(at least start the process)
Buy and digital camera,new mobile,DVD player)
Try to make full use of both the pcs (old pc is lying idle accumulating dust)
Reduce my tummy and become fit, maybe join the Gym, do yoga etc
learn to Meditate
Keep accumulating and learning Oracle Applications.
apply passports for spouse and son.

Well these are some of the to do's which I can remember now.
Cheers and starting the new year with a happy note.
-:)

Visit to Raipur and Bhilai

2005-12-07T12:17:00.000+05:30

I visited Raipur and Bhilai from 24/11/05 to 28/11/05. The idea was to attend a wedding of Mrudulas cousin and also in turn get the chance to visit a new place. Otherwise we would never have planned to visit these places.
Started from Mumbai at 20.35 by boarding the Samrasta Express at Kurla terminus.
We were 6 (3 of us and my sister in laws family). It was Anish's first long distance train journey.
Earlier whenever we have travelled long distance it was in a Sumo.
As expected Anish troubled us a lot. We reached Raipur on 24/11/05 at 16. Myself,Mrudula and Anish stayed in Hotel J.K. Raj. The hotel was very good for the price we paid.
There was the wedding reception on the same day(24/11) and we attended it. We reached for the next days wedding at 11.30am and stayed in the hall upto 20.30pm all tired especially Anish.
Next days plan was to reach Bhilai which is just 30-40Km from Raipur by 12.00pm, but we got delayed due to the post wedding ceremonies and also delay in getting transport.
Raipur the way I saw it is a quiet but dusty place. Surprisingly the 2 days we stayed in Raipur it was not cold and felt almost like Mumbai, maybe a shade cooler. We had expected bitter cold with temperatures below 14 degrees.
Bhilai is quaint little town and much cleaner and well planned than Raipur maybe due to the influence of the Bhilai Steel Plant. I was also very cold with climate remaining cool throughou the day.
The relatives whom we visited in Bhilai had a well furnished bungalow very much like the ones they show in TV serials and hindi movies. We reached there house on 26/11/05 at 14.00pm.
I had to go to the railway station to cancell my tickets for 28/11 as I was supposed to return 1 day earlier. Mrudula and others told me to stay on but I told them that it was crucial for me to reach Office on 28/11(Monday). I had to board the train at 11.40am from Raipur and would have to leave home at least by 10.15am. So there was not enough time to stay in this beautiful house. I offered to change my plans by cancelling all tickets and booking a ticket from Durg to Nagpur by bus and Nagpur to Mumbai by flight. Everyone agreed and I reached Chembur at 11.00am on 28/11/05. I travelled by Alliance Air. I landed at Nagpur at 4.30am and it was very very cold. I spent 3 hours at the airport.
Mrudula and Anish came back on the next day morning and both fell ill.
I am not getting much time to pursue my interests.

Book mania

2005-11-01T23:47:00.000+05:30

One fine day (precisely 4 days before writing this) I got suddenly interested in reading fiction/non-fiction books rather than the usual computer stuff which I am more interested nowadays.
This interest was aroused when going through the books in the office library which although predominantly is stacked up with techno software books also has some management/leadership stuff. I was with a colleague who is exactly opposite and is only interested in general books (more of non-fiction). I am a good reader of books and have read many fiction books in my college days.
To list-Agatha Christie, Sidney Sheldon, Frederick Forsyth,Robert Ludlum,Jeffery Archer, Arthur Hailey etc... This list also included some stray authors of whom I have read only 1/2 books.
This is all total fiction. This was during 1985-91 my college days. Slowly lack of time and also loss of interest took its toll and I did not read much fiction from 92-present. Infact I shunned biographies/autobiographies/management etc. My interest was in software from 99. I have a good collection of some 45-50 books(I havent counted) on software and computers.

These days it is possible to get a book from the local bookseller(raddi) for Rs.150-200/-. This is the deposit and you get back Rs.120-180 on return. The return has no time limit. I have already read "Da Vinci Code", "Are you afraid of the dark", 2 popular novels through the above method. There was some little interest which had already aroused but it was just a spark and 4 days back it turned into fire.
Now the question was which are the really good books which should be read. I vaguely remembered that I had visited a site called pagalguy a premier MBA resource site. I had come across the url in the newspaper when the CAT results were leaked. It was a good site and I found a link on quizzing very interesting. I decided to visit this same site and find whether they have something realted to books. Yes, my hunch was correct I found a long discussion on books recommendations. It runs into 75 pages and I have gone through only 30 of them. I also started making a list of the books recommended even though I had not heard of the title nor the author.
From the 30 pages I read the following can be summarized

Ayn Rand-Fountainhead,Atlas Shrugged------------------Highly recommended read
also rated high by everyone-I had read Ayn Rand in college and everything went above my head as I found it boring. I read Anthem, We the living etc. Should try again especially Fountainhead
John Grisham-Partner,Juror etc--------------------------Highly recommended read
but many people complained about his latest novels being boring.
Akio Morita-Made in Japan-------------------------------Recommended
Paolo Coelho-The Alchemist,Veronika dies...--------------Recommended. I just Alchemist today and found it boring. The initial part was good then it really needed my will to finish the book.
Catch-22-------------------------------------------------Recommended
Sidney Sheldon-------------------------------------------Good read but new titles have lost the old charm

Above mentioned summary is solely of the pagalguy list posters.
I will refine it yet further as i go through other pages.
I read The Alchemist in the last 4 days when the book mania caught me.
Lets see now much I am able to read

Harrowing experience obtaining a passport

2005-10-25T11:56:00.000+05:30

Finally I applied for a passport. This should have been done a lot earlier but I was lazy enough not to even think about it. I should have though "I am a professional and would need a passport sometime in my life"
The rules in India for obtaining a passport seem to be evolving but at a snails pace. Obtaining a passport being a prerogative of the government it runs according to the whims and fancies of the babus at the helm.There seem to be different rules at different places and nobody is well versed with these.India is a global economy or rather is fast becoming a globalised economy but the bureaucracy still persists. Yes, I have seen some changes in this bureaucratic state of affairs which is a whiff of fresh air,but these changes are really to a certain part of the monolith and it appears spreading in the govt wee bit slowly. I am not aware what procedure is followed for obtaining a passport in other countries but it should be somewhat similar less the bureaucracy.
So why is obtaining a passport so difficult. Here is an account of the same which includes my own application for a pasport (still waiting as of this writing).

First stand in a long queue and apply for the passport. This is just the first step. You are given a date on which you are required to submit/verify the originals. There is only one office where all the applications for Mumbai are accepted. Considering Mumbai is the financial capital there should be multiple cells for passport clearances. Here your graduation counts and not your professional degrees. I am a CA myself and this has no worth in the passport application.
Then comes the Police verification.

Firstly keep in your mind that you are a fraud/criminal. Yes this is the way the Police looks at you even though you may be the most honest citizen of India. So before going for the Police verification consider yourself as the most dreaded criminal or fraud and then go to the Police station. (Agreed the Police are doing their duty and they have every right to suspect you, but you could suspect one and still be helpful enough and not arrogant)

The trouble for me started here. A hawaldar came to my house verified my ration card/birth certificate and purposefully found some error on my ration card (which is not an error at all)
after almost 15 minutes he gave me a letter which stated that I was to report to the police station on 25/9/05 a Sunday. This document is barely readable. In this document is mentioned the timings when police verification is carried out. In this also it is mentioned that Monday is a holiday for passport police verification. This is not readable at all. I was happy till this moment. I could not make it to the Police station on Sunday and so I went on monday where I was told that it was closed on Monday and that my application was sent back as I had not reported on Sunday.

This was the most frustrating moment I had faced in my life. This is totally unacceptable. It is always possible that due to unavoidable circumstances one may not report for verification and a period of 3-4 days grace should be given. This is mentioned on the unreadable document given to me but this rule is not followed due to increasing volume of work.
Now I have to apply again and the whole thing will take another month. I have reapplied again on 11/10 and am still waiting for a call from the police station. Wonder of wonders you do not get an acknowledgement for the reapplication so I do not have any proof.
Another wonder if any documents are misplaced by passport office they are not at fault you are the one who are unlucky and at fault as you want to travel abroad

One really good experience I had was with the Police helpline. Well, i could not imagine such a service can exist in this bureaucratic jungle. They answered all my queries and that too in Marathi? Great stuff Police

One thing I was surprised was that every person (friend/relative etc) whom I inquired with about the passport process and what had happened with me told me a different story. So the rules are as per the whims and fancies of each police station at each locality. I stay in a suburb in Mumbai. In my locality it takes at least 35-40min to for a police verification as they agin check your originals.
Also there is another rule that you have to sign before the saaheb i.e the inspector. So if the saaheb is not there it is further delayed.

Why do we need such a cumbersome and lengthy process.
Some suggestions.

Establish a set of standard rules and guidelines to be followed by each one of the persons involved in the passport application process. In framing these take help of experts.
Reduce the amount of paperwork involved.
Set timeframes for completion of each process.
Establish independent cells preferably manned by Police at various locations in the suburbs to ease the rush
Ensure transperancy of the full passport issuing process.
Establish set rules and regulations to be followed for non availability of documents to be submitted.

With the above in place I would not mind if my passport got delayed and I am given reasons for the delay.
Maybe I will get the passport in 2006 or never at all...................
Maybe someday somebody will read this and change will take place..........

Maybe, Maybe ...................................................................................

Still more rains

2005-09-19T11:10:00.000+05:30

After the down pour on 26/7/05 it has been raining off and on and sometimes heavily enough to bring back the memories of 26/7/05.
Life has become a little better than what it was earlier, as I am getting some time to meet my personal and family obligations.
I have started making a list of work to be done on Monday for the week. I could achieve atleast 50% of what I had listed. From this week I have decided that 1/2hr of exercise to reduce my tummy and 1/2hr of pooja would be a standard activity daily. I have to arrange all other activities keeping in mind these 2.

Tsunami from heaven!!!!!!!!

2005-07-28T15:47:00.000+05:30

On 26/7/2005 it started on 1.00pm in the afternoon. Well it was torrential rain with such speed and continued till the next morning upto 4.00am(26/7/05) with the same speed

It was like the end of the world prophecy and yes it felt like the world will come to an end.
This was first time in the history of Mumbai for 100 years that it had rained so heavily.

We ar alive and Mumbai itself is limping back to normal

July 26 2005 and July 27 2005 Days to remember

Blogging from my new job

2005-07-20T15:58:00.001+05:30

It is surprising how things have turned out. After my last post I got the offer letter on 1/7/05.
I already had informed my boss on 20/6/05 but I informed all my colleagues on 2/7/05.
Sometimes I feel I have left a lot of things unfinished. But on the other side this work will always keep on increasing and something will always remain unfinished taking into consideration the number of people and calibre.
I am always in the fear that they will call me back for some mistakes which they will find.
This is really because of systems problems.

I havent recd any serious calls for doubts from my previous company.
Any way it is the 7th day in the new company(excluding sat and sun). I joined on 11/7/05 with a career change. I am into Oracle apps now. Hope to continue for atleast 1 year.
Thinking of taking broad band internet connection.

Clicked?!!?!!?.Still keeping fingers crossed

2005-06-20T12:17:00.000+05:30

The interview scheduled on Friday was good. I was caught off guard as it turned out to be a technical interview. I had a feeling that it was slipping out of my hands. Well I got selected and the offer verbally on phone was made then and there itself.

After this call there was even a call from the Indian liasion person. He told me that I should go ahead in putiing my papers in my current job. Now the control is transferred to Cap Gemini and I would get a call in the coming week for a physical copy of the letter and also a medical.

I dont know this has happened for the first time. Everything on the phone I have not seen anyone. I am tensed about this as without anything in hand it is difficult to go further.
I dont expect any technical snags further but still am keeping my fingers crossed till I get a letter in my hand.
I have already informed my boss abt it but officially have not put in papers

Will update further.
#$%%&&.................. hope everything goes smoothly!

Something is clicking!!!!!!!!

2005-06-17T14:27:00.000+05:30

Well for a surprise the interview scheduled on last thursday as mentioned in my last post has clicked. This means after 2 rounds of interviews today the final interview is scheduled today night.
The company is Sogeti which is a subsididary of Cap Gemini.
If selected I will be employed with Cap gemini and work for Sogeti in their internal Oracle Apps implementation.
I have a reputation of getting shortlisted and in the final stage being rejected (due to some other factors). This has happened in 2 cases only till now and I am afraid about that.

Let this happen. Let god help me.

Yes it will happen. Yes I am going to be selected.

Will keep this blog updated
All the best/ goodluck

It worked!!! But has not clicked?

2005-06-09T19:09:00.000+05:30

I finally prepared a revised resume highlighting my Oracle Financials exposure to try for a Functional Consultant job. I think i started applying from 6/5/05. I had prepared my revised resume 2/3 days before this.

Initially I applied for Mumbai based openings and realised that the maximum openings where in Bangalore and Hyderabad. I then started to apply irrespective of location except North India

This surely worked and within a week I was flooded with calls from placements.
There was a opening at HP in Mumbai and almost all placements asked me about the same
It was like almost 20 calls in 3 to 4 days.

Well from 6/5/05 to 9/6/05(today) I have given 4 telephonic interviews 3 of them averaging to upto 26minutes and my confidence has increased.
There is a telephonic interview scheduled today @10.30pm from USA
Infact on Sunday(5/6/05) there was a interview at 2.00in the afternoon. After the interview the inteviewer asked me to ask questions about his company and in the end said HR will contact.
These words itself increased my confidence level.
There has been a draught of calls this week and the calls which were expected have not materialise till now.
This is regular in my case when I am almost there bu still no there(due to other circumstances)
Even my horoscopes in the daily sunday newspapers mentioned a change and positive happenings. I never read these but this Sunday I read them.
4 interviews
Datamatics
Oracle
Tecumseh(not suitable for me)
Caritor

I even dreamt of going to Chennai and joining acompany called Maya Dal. I dont remember much but this was on the night when the Oracle Interview took place.

Waiting for something to happen............... and let it happen fast.

Another weekend outing

2005-05-16T19:07:00.000+05:30

As i wrote earlier about Ganpati Pule were I visited last month, This month I went to Marve beach just on the outskirts of Mumbai(actually in mumbai itself).
Stayed at the guest house and completely relaxed for the 2 days (Sat and Sun).
Great place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well I have started applying for Oracle Financials jobs from 6/3/05 onwards. No luck as yet only some stray calls here an there. I found out that maximum jobs are in Bangalore/hyderabad and Gurgaon for Oracle Apps. Well then have decided that I would relocate. I dont know whether this is the correct decision but somehow I have to quit and earn more money.
Some progress atleast.
Today I was surprised to hear that persons I never thought would do this are really experts in this field (Stock trading).
Day after day I sum up all my enthu and work harder with only one objective that someday the almighty will grant me the much coveted job. It is always good to do things that u like and computers and especially Linux are the most of which I like.
Nobody will take me as a software programmer or a IT person but to get into IT there is only one alternative enter through Oracle Financials.
Again at the moment havent lost confidence and will work with renewed vigour tomorrow.

GanpatiPule

2005-04-25T16:37:00.000+05:30

I went for an outing to Ganpati Pule and some adjoining areas. Great place but we had a hectic time as we had to return back on Sunday.
Desperately need to change the job. Maybe into Oracle Apps.
Atleast I finished revising my CV. Now it has to be just fine tuned and I can start applying.
According to many friends there is a shortage of these consultants and I should get a job.
But "apply apply and no reply" has been the case with me always.

Hope for the best.

Month end,year end etc no time.......

2005-04-06T19:11:00.000+05:30

It was month end time and hence did not have time to update.
Monthe end has ended and have to prepare for audit and of course a job in which I am interested nd get job staisfaction
Planning to go on leave from 8 to 12 outof station.

Donated blood for the first time today.

Long time no post so this

2005-03-24T20:12:00.000+05:30

I started a Linux/open source/ general computer info blog. Will post all linux and opensource info happennings there and not here.

Working hard to avoid the later finalization hassle. Still havent tried for a Oracle Financials job even though I am more knowledgeable than a year back. Still need to learn a lot. The demand for apps is high.
Sitting late every day trying to finish work
Will be working on Sunday.
next week is goin to be more hectic.

Same old story

2005-03-11T15:57:00.000+05:30

Nothing worthy to mention. I was preoccupied with my month end last week. Also Oracle Financials AR implementation was catching up speed. Did not get time to pursue other interests.

Going to Nagpur again and this time it is Saturday and Sunday.
All plans and schedules made in my prior post have not materialised.
Atleast I am reading "Da Vinci Code" every day regularly.
I am going for 2 days only so want to travel lite. Unnecessary load like books to be avoided as I know there is not much time to read as I will reach back in the Hotel after 12.00 am
Logged on to IRC thru Mirc more than before.
Found that Gentoo and Debian are the most popular on Freenode and of course Ubuntu is there in the top 10
Managed to ask questions on IRC regarding modem detetction and direct booting to CLI instead of GUI and got good answers
Synaptic started working this morning. Even though Ubuntu is a very solid distro a old Slack user like me is desperate for that Slack login. I do not have Slack anymore on my PC. I need Slack desperately. I have slack 9.1 CD's need the latest i.e 10.0 or 10.1
No time to do anything as per plan as after office have to be with my kid, So take life as it comes.
Which book to carry tommorow? Maybe "Da Vinci" or some techie book?????
When I visited Distrowatch site last there were some 400 odd distros tracked. I wondered how many people used or tried more than at least 10. But suddenly I realised that whatever the distro is based upon it is different. So Ubuntu,Knoppix are not pure Debian.
The open source seems to move at jet speed and I am a sloth.
Gnome 2.10 was released
I got FC3 cd's from a friend and still have to try it.
Thinking of buying a CD-R/DVD combo drive.
Really need some free time to re-organise myself

Thats it.............

General update

2005-02-21T16:39:00.000+05:30

1> Trip to Nagpur meterialised. Was there 14-16 Feb 04
2>The obvious choice seems getting into Oracle Apps implementation but no firm steps taken as yet
3>I tried to load Slack9.1 on my Pc and found that the CD was bad. I wrote the CD in office but did not know nor had the time to find out how to make it bootable. I could not boot finally. Needed to have Linux desperately. I think it is like a drug which you are hooked on.
Finally i gave in to Ubuntu(Warty ) and loaded the same. It is Debian based.
4>Opened a Gmail account yesterday. You can get invited to open an Gmail account from the Gmail site itself. All these days was wondering of asking my friends for an invite.
5> Started subscribing to Ubuntu users mailing lists today through gmail.
6>Carried 2 books again when I visited Nagpur. This time it was "Learning Perl" -O'Reilly and "Open Source a perspective" by RMS but could not read a single page as always returned from office at 12.30p.m.
7>Bought "GNU C++ by Tom Swan". Well I am just buying books by the dozen I dont know when I will read them.
8>I had read "Are you afraid of the dark" by Sidney Sheldon a month back exchanged it with the local book seller for "Da vinci code" by Dan Brown and also bought "A brief history of time"
by Stephen Hawking". Da Vinci is supposed to be a bestseller and so wanted to read it. Every tom dick and harry is reading this book.
9>Started making yearly targets, and within them short term targets.
10>OCA/OCP-yearly, Finalise my CV w.r.t Apps by 28/2/05-short term, Learn a foreign language-yearly
11> Have to fcous on work also as year end is near and I have to plan to be ready for Audit by April 05 or May 05 Max
12> I do not get to operate my PC at home as I have to spend whole time with my kid.
13>I had joined Oracle SQL course for OCA a year back. For 3 papers there are totally 6 books.
Planning to read the basic book (Book 1) by 28/2/05

Pc back into action but w/o Linux

2005-02-10T17:00:00.000+05:30

My brother loaded Win XP and one of the PC is live again albeit without Linux. I tried to load Linux today morning but did not get enough time.
I have been trying to change my job for a long time but am not getting any good calls. I am more into system impelmentation rather than core finance. My salary is peanuts presently compared to others.
Well so systems is my forte and I have been implementing and using Oracle Financials at my current job for 2.10 years. I should capitalise on that. This feeling always comes of a sudden to me and then vanishes. I know even if I only concentrate on learning Oracle (for which all tools exist) I may be able to change my job (hopefully). Now fater all this I will start to learn Oracle and after 2 days again I will leave it as it is.
This feeling today has arisen because I saw an Ad for Oracle Financials from CapGemini
There is so much to learn just in Oracle itself leave alone Apps. I also have the relevant books and of course I can practice at work.
I came across a site asktom.oracle.com and it is a fundu site.

Both Hard disks formatted. 2 blank pc's with no OS

2005-02-08T12:27:00.000+05:30

Hi
I have a spare PC at my house. This is an old one bought from my office in 2002. Recently y brother bought a new PC a P4 2.4ghz 256 mb RAM with a new cabinet. The old PC was lying idle w/o a HDD/FDD but with Mobo/RAM amd processor.
I had an idea of creating a home network connecting these 2 pc's. I bought a HDD and got a crossover cable abt 1-1/2 month back. I was free on Saturday so I decided to try connecting this to my old pc. I continued this on Sunday and inthe process I formatted bothe my HDD's.
Now I have both the PC's clean w/o anything on the HDD. This is bcoz we did not adjust the jumper settings.
Great experience will reinstall everything again fro scratch.

Bangalore visit

2005-01-31T17:23:00.000+05:30

Visited Bangalore and returned on Sunday.
Was a good trip. I trained Bangalore accountants in my company on Oracle Financials
Hope to go again some time in Feb. I am more hopeful on a trip to our branches in Kolkata and Nagpur, hope they materialise.
Could not read even a word of the "Learning Perl" book I had taken along to Bangalore.
I read some 10 pages of "The Alchemist" in Bangalore.
In turn I bought 8 books on computers mainly relating to Unix and Linux.
I dont when I will read them or where I will keep it.
Books worth Rs.3300/- bought in Jan 05 itself.
Month end time no mood after the trip to Bangalore.

2005-01-27T13:03:00.000+05:30

Human mind-remains unexplored unexplained

2005-01-20T12:16:00.000+05:30

My mothers Aunt who stays at the same place where we stay was admitted to the hospital due to suspected paralysis and other complications. We came to know about this on 14th Jan 05.
She is an old lady of 93 years old. I have never seen her ill during my lifetime. She has always remained active with the odd aging problems.
I came to know of this while I was working in my office. There was a little bit of tense feeling me because of the age at which she was suffering.
My mother immediately visited her in the hospital and the same day evening when I came back home from office my mother told me that she was alright and would improve in days to come.
The above sentence just had the right effect on my mind and I really did not think about my granny
right from Friday thru Tuesday.
On Tuesday night I came to know that she had a stroke and had been taken in Intensive care and she was at a critical stage.

This same sentence had a drastic effect on my mind and I again started to think otherwise and this also affected my work.
On Wednesday I visited her and that day I could not concentrate on work.
Death is an integral part of the package called life yet when it stalks our near and dear ones we fear.
Just 2 words had my mind work and think differently.

UBUNTU

2005-01-18T10:35:00.000+05:30

Loaded Ubuntu Linux on my PCNow I triple boot Win Xp/Slack9.1(2.4.22) and Ubuntu.
It was a real sleek install. No problems whatsoever.Some issues still need to be sorted out in Gnome.
Some progs do not open.
I am used to the CLI and my favourite Midnight commander.
Ubuntu directly opens a GUI with Gnome 2.8.0.
I need to change the background but do not know how to mount my FAT32 drive.
I am not able to login to CLI.
What is the root password ?????????.
I was planning to try out FC3 but getting the CD's will take time.
The ubuntu site has a shipit link and ships the no. of cd's for free.I had logged in and entered my name almost a month back and I got the cd's yesterday.Want to keep this setup for some time and may be will start learning networking in the near future.

Status Quo!

2005-01-17T18:10:00.000+05:30

Well I visited my blog after a long time.Got inspired by somebody elses blog. Well nothing new to write about.
A self proclaimed linux fanatic has no time to use Linux due to personal reasons.

Let us see?

New to Blogging

2004-09-03T14:28:00.000+05:30

What is Blog and Blogging. Well just created a Blog and now will use it regularly,I hope.

For an introduction I am an Accountant and a Linux Fanatic.