Spotted : Satan @ the World Bank

paul wolfowitz w/girlfriend shaha riza

And Guess what he wears Prada ;-)
And the funniest of all he says He iz the Monk who sold his Ferrari to 'Save the World' LOL

Yep.... I am referring to the President of the World Bank.
Who has been caught napping with his pants down.
He sure has given a new meaning ( or is it Dimension?? ) to the word 'Raise'.
He apparently got his Galfriend a raise which was more than double the stipulated by Bank rules.
What on earth called for such out of turn and above average Favouritism ? It is said that she was his love interest.
Makes it a case of Satanic Raises ;-) indeed.
And yet Mr. Wolfowitz in his true wolf style says he is sorry about such things and pleads "Not Guilty" How Satanly behaviour I must say...! It appears "The World is not Flat" it sure has its sharp curves !!!!

From the archives of Murray Waas

Wolfowitz, who as Deputy Secretary of Defense was considered an architect of the U.S. war with Iraq, disclosed to bank board members that he had a romantic relationship with a senior bank communications officer, Shaha Riza, shortly after he was nominated to head the World Bank. Bank regulations disallow bank employees from supervising spouses or romantic partners, but Wolfowitz reportedly attempted to circumvent the rules so he would be able to continue to work with Riza.

Informed by the bank's ethics officers that that would not be allowable, the problem appeared solved when Riza was detailed to work at the State Department's public diplomacy office in September 2005--even though her salary was still to be paid by the World Bank.

Before she was detailed over to the State Department, Riza was earning $132,660, according to the bank's payroll records obtained by the Governmental Accountability Project. Had the bank's board adhered to its ordinary rules, as Riza was shifted over to the State Department, she should have only been eligible for a raise of about $20,000.
Instead she was given a raise of $47,340, whereupon her salary became $180,000. Then last year, she received yet another raise which brought her salary to $193,950. That salary increase not only meant that Riza earned more than Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
but apparently made her the single highest paid State Department official.

~P

My Saturdays n Sundays

just points out my lethargy and lazygoose nature on these two special days of the week :)

Saturdays and Sundays....

-:) P

Nord marries Sud...

Nord Marries the Sud
Jus kidding...in Germany and France

• Nord = North
• Sud = South

(pardon the german...itz just me ;-) )

I am going to touch upon a sensitive issue now ;-).

I am referring to the marriage of Aishwarya Rai to Abhishek Bacchan .

The big fat wedding to me is a marriage of the most eligible north indian to the most eligible sout indian. North indians usually are fair skinned people vis-a-vis the South indians. In my career I have worked with and come across people from North,South,West,East India. While all are obviously attached to their birth place. Some people are honest in their opinion.

In my personal experience only north indians are always critical of the Beauty of South Indians.

South indians are generally thought of as the dark skinned and called the "Madrasi s"

Well to be frank south indians are dark majorly due to the severe climate in those regions.

But fairness has nothing to do with beauty right ?. Kerala, TN, karnataka have their good share of fair skinned people. This "Madrasi" labelling is foolishness.

S indians are also labelled ugly...which is going a bit too far...South indians are smart, suave and many also are fair skinned which is contrary to the belief of the north indians.

The marriage of Aishwarya and Abhishek just proves this point beyond doubt.
That south indians are also equally beautiful and fair. After all Ash was the ms. World :)
With the new cocktail of culture and mixture of different regionalities in Bangalore....10/15 years down the line we might have a bangalore species of indians who will be the true indians. It will be an explosive mixture maybe of the sud and the nord ;) .

~P

Adding Injury to Insult

The Virginia Tech shooting is like adding Injury to insult met some time before.

The korean student massacred 33 ppl thanks to the thriving gun culture in the USA. Obviously this was a differennt kind of hate crime. Maybe Insult followed injury. This appears to be the most plausible reason.

It seems nothing was learnt from the Columbine High shooting. I had downloaded the video which was available on Bearshare. It was a spine-chillin experience...the boys brandishing the guns terrorised and killed their mates in high school.

They sure were kids who had lost their mind and wanted to show friends they were Natural Born Killers.

Speaking of Natural Born Killers I believe all the countries have their share of juvenile deliquents. Its just that the American Politicians are run by these Armament factories which make sure no one ever does any legislation on guncontrol.

While the American companies might thrive the younger generations suffer at the hands of the politicians. I think there is blood on each US politicians hands.

I saw virtually the same things which i saw after the 9/11 .

The US politicians and mayors said at the time of crisis we should all stand togather at the toime of the crisis. None of them think of the Whys and the Wherefores...

They solve the wrong problem...

Controlled gun sales can eliminate such crimes of insanity against humanity.

But US Armament lobby calls the shots in the WhiteHouse it appears...

Thankfully india is not touched by this malaise yet.

Yet again Memorial ceremony features the Bush family condoning exactly the way they did during 9/11 .

Don't know how long the American people are going to take this political crap !

They should enforce strict regulations on buying sale usage of guns. Obviously the politicians wud not be interested in such a thingy.

My hearfelt condolences to all affected families and to all the Flowers nipped in the bud.

!!! P

2 Endorse or Not ???

Sometimes there are no conclusions on somethings. Here again I start of on one such oft-debated topic. Recently Ian/Greg Chappell commented taht tendulkar shud hang up his boots.Tendulkar pulled a smarter one. He said Greg Chappell doubted his credentials which was not true everyone knew.Tendulkar knew if he could divert the issue and make it against chappell people wud luk @ his record books and give a clean chit to Tendulkar. Well at least I don't !.
Tendulkar seems to be pushing other youngsters career downhill in trying to build his own.
Next came the issue of Sponsorship. Tendulkar feels committed or obliged to play to justify his sponsorship deals. While I agree everybody has a right to earn money. But since our Army Jawans and People in the Medical profession are not supposed to act in the media. Why not extend it to players who get selected for a ODI or a Test Match.
According to me, any Indian Team Player chosen for the indian team for any match has to stop acting or endorsing products for any company for a period of three months. Which ensures his undivided attention before Cricket Matches.
After that he can endorse whatever shitty product he wants who cares. This is exactly in line with what the Doctors or people in the Armed forces do. They 'Do not endorse any product' which can affect public opinion in a wrong way.Also assuming Dhoni endorses a Trouser line, it does not mean Trouser is as durable as its bat. It sure mean they have a bigger price tag.
After any tournament anybody is at his free will to endorse or make money to any extent possible.
Just a few thoughts ... I guess they are not unreasonable...!!!
What say fella Indyans ?
~P

How Great iz our God ?

Click on the Youtube link and then read the lyrics to understand the Average Indian Sentiment right now!!

The splendor of a King,clothed in majesty

Let all the earth rejoice All the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in Light,and darkness tries to hide

And trembles at His voice And Trembles at His voice
How great is our God, sing with me

How great is our God, and all will see

How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands And time is in His hands ??? [:)]

Beginning and the end Beginning and the end ??????
The Godhead Three in One Father Spirit Son

The Lion and the Lamb The Lion and the Lamb
How great is our God, sing with me How great is our God,

and all will see How great, how great is our God ?
Name above all names Worthy of our praise ?

My heart will sing How great is our God ?
How great is our God ?, sing with me

How great is our God ? , and all will see

How great, how great is our God ??????

how great is our God ?

~P

Confessions of a Desi Rider

Bitter Sweet Confessions of Riding in India

I ain't no "street hawk" or a "Knight Rider"

... I am yet another rider....IAYAR :)

• when in doubt honk, it might save your life whu knows ?


• Be wary of approaching Call Center cabs, Autos, Buses, Trucks, babes [ here priority is in their order of their appearance ;-) ]


• The KISS principle - Keep It Slow and Simple.Reckless driving surely is bound to ruin your day.


• Make sure your brakes help ou stop before the estimated target ahead of you. :)


• All the Men are from MARS and Women from VENUS.;-) means trust nobody and be careful of the Nth minute U-Turns ... he he he...


• Leave 15 mins early for any destination. you might just miss/leave your embarrassing traffic moment behind in time that way.
  

you might wonder why the hell i am asking you to mellow down...
Its so that you live to read another blog :)

With this desi recipe for bike riding I wish you a very Smooth(kinda) and safe ride in India

! P

Return to Innocence

Last two days have been quite different in terms of experience for me.

yesterday :

It rained after a long long time in Bangalore. I went out and got myself drenched in the Rain like a school kid. Remembered my life inBombay. how we used to go to school in constant rain using raincoats and umbrellas. Used to wear the Gumboots and have a ball.

Still can;t forget the panchayat bawdi(well) blues from my school.

Today :

had been to the annual health check up from Samsung. Pulse diagnostics is also a neo-natal care for babies. I saw some cute babies raanging in age from 1month to 1 year.

Simply superb experience. The kids mumur in some strange way/language and its so very soothing to the ears. I thought of complementing one mom for having a Cute baby but then...somehow held back.

Overall it was kinda ...... 'Return to Innocence' this last two working days of the week.

~P

Death of an innocent Lake

Inset: A lake in Bagmane tech park as seen from the Top(Satellite image). The Green region is fast being converted to a grey region :(by dumping sand).

Life happens to us we never ask for it.

Sometimes we see every next generation Blames the one before it for their frustrations.

For instance the fast disappearance of nature flora and fauna is reason good enough.

But, we as responsible(?) people should ensure our Future Generations are better off and have no such complaints. WE ARE WHAT WE LEARN AND EXPERIENCE. If we cannot learn from our experiences then we are nothing short of somewhat cultured animals.

Anyway the point of this blog is that this lake shown above is being destroyed/buried. I work in CV Raman nagar Baghmane Tech Park, Bangalore.

Next to our Samsung building a small lake exists(?). This is being now devoured by the concrete intentions of the Owners. some might say "Rightfully So".

Well i have nothing against the "Build a building and make cartloads of money" sentiment. { I wud rather call it Convoluted reasoning }

But already BagmaneTech Park earns in crores. Moot question

Who requires a building ?.

Why can't the existing buildings be extended (like sky scrapers) and can house more people that way.

Why is the lake being buried with sand ?

Why are the local authorities turning a blind eye.

Already Traffic in and around the area is a mess due to concentration of more and more companies.

While Bagmane tech Park management does not even as much as provide a bridge for pedestrians to cross the streets at the entrance of the tech park!

Why are the Authorities screwing the place in an irrecoverable way. Instead of maintaining the lake the tech park owners are making sure it is closed or buried in sand before anybody notices the change.

Obviously the land sharks are very well connected according to many sources. But some discretion by the land sharks is required to have some sense of sanity to the Trafffic, aesthetics of the area.

I am saying it loud and clear, We are sacrificing the future !!!

As the lake dies, it appears nobody wants to see it eye to eye.

A small ode to the lake.

Like a Ocean drop,

on the bald face of the earth,

buried by human greed

Sorry to see u Gone too soon

Fool hardy men

blind folded minds

with their dollared lives

Gone with the Dusty winds

like Loss of a Life

irreplaceable forever

Splendid sight Snuffed out without a fight
The source for the muse

Inpiration for the recluse

buried by the insane

Lake shouts stop the insanity fair

In this thoroughfare of land sharks

Its not Easy come Easy Go...

Vanished without a trace

Where the heck is godot ?

Sorry couldn't keep promises

Ruthless world says to thee

Its not Miles to go before you die

Just days and hours in front of Thee...

~P.

Desi StarBucks...

In Search of DESI STARBUCKS.

Cmon itss so hot in Bangalore these dayz that u jus cannot survive without Nariyal Pani.

But being an avid coffee fan-freak. I was searching the local starbuck. Desi Starbucks are not far away but sometimes the "Coffee Days" are all snazzy, not particularly gute plazes to enjoi a Hot cuppa.

So I marched to a discreet shop in Eating Street @ VV puram and had a Cuppa.

(hell I like it taht way only:-). One helluva time to spend this big weekend. What say ?

~P

Nostalgica

In this ever changing uncertain world, its good to know some things and some people don;t change.

I am talking of the good samaritans i come across in Bangalore traffic who sometimes give way to others. I have seen umpteen no. of such instances which boosts ma faith that things are gonna change for the better after 'all. I reciprocate the gesture by paying back in kind(by giving way)

~P

--- Behind Enemy Lines ---

The recent unfortunate act of tresspassing by british navy sailors was promptly addressed by Iran.

Like any country, Iran also has the right to protect its Territorial Integrity and borders against lurking hostile armies.

After all the britishers cannot think of any mis-adventure without the support from the US against Iran. One british politician called it a hostage crisis. from when did tresspassers get this "hostage" tag.

" The UK " must have pressed Panic buttons resulting in the US geting involved. American president said on CNN that it was binding on Iran to return the soldiers. He found the Iranians behaviour "un-excusable". The moot question is what is excusable behaviour and what is best behaviour :).

Apparently american politicians dictionaries differ from the rest of the worlds. If tresspassing is excusable then I think american/british people are taken for a jumbo ride by their so called "Politicians".

I guess the americans are wary because they mightbe asked to swap the Iranian prisoners who were caught in Baghdad by the US forces.

Its like I being caught in my neighbours house by an un-identified individual. Totally Ludricrous and un-acceptable.

The Iranians found this too much, not only did they british demand release they never apologized. I remember a similar incident in which a US Spy plane which was brought down by Chinese Fighter planes which was flying over Chinese territory.

The US then had secured the release of the crew saying they might have accidentally strayed into chinese territory. China did not obviously return the plane. maybe it wanted to know what kind of data US Spy Planes collect and what sensitive data they already had on-board.

Now thats fair enough. but the US did budge against the Chinese might something to take note of.

In another of the LATEedition shows on CNN, Senator mccain was found saying he travelled from Baghdad airport to some other area closeby and saw lot of improvement. How Ironic, on one hand they bomb the civilians in and around the areas with US presence and then proclaim it to be "Positive development". I can only say that such politicians are sick in their mind.

The lives and times of Iraqi people have been shattered.

Who is accountable for this continued deaths and anarchy in Iraq ?

Why was there a need to attack Iraq ? WMDs were never found after the war. americans can't seem to stop this thing they started. They have lost lives in Iraq after the war.

Was all this called for ?

If this was all found wrong in the future!

will the US ever convict its politicians for wrong decisions in the future. The germans already have disowned hitler.

Huh, America sure amazes me no end.

While technology and geeks emerge victorious. Sadly its the politicians who are playing games in the world.

It increasing appears the Americans snuff out life from other countries and feed their own mouths.

While Techies such as Google,Yahoo try to bring some sanity to the Insanity Fair.

~P

[QOTM] April

“Coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is progress, Working together is success.”

-Henry Ford.

I kinda buy that argument though I am no big fan of ford or his cars...

~P

Ich Bin Ich !

Nuts n bolts of Life in the 21st Century

Some things which are markers of LIFE in the 21st Century

1. When you give a missed call to your friend with whom you *need* to talk right away [ at his cost :) ]

2. when you haven't written a single paragraph in years in a notebook which conveys what you strongly feel about someone/something. [ and Notebook reminds you of ur laptop]

3. When you associate friends with their mobile numbers, email ids.

4. When you send offline messages when you do not wanna dare the person with the message when he is online ;-)

5. Give flimsy reasons like not having email id to not keep in touch with yesteryear pals.

6. You jump to Google for all your needs which can be very Naive otherwise { imagine life without google }

7. Can't afford to detach yourself from your Gizmos(mobiles,mp3 players) for even seconds. { Talk of machines ruling our world :-) ha}

8. Life is reduced to a smiley [ :) ] and otherwise it masks the reality.

9. There is a Fat Chance that If you are reading this prolly itz late, you are online (@ office or at home) and I pity you :-) you ought to be in bed. {what du u say ?}

~P

Psycho Babble....

I was sort of sandwitched over a talk between a Friend (doctor) and his other doc friend. I tried to walk the talk.

They were discussin how to figure out Bob was poisoned or strangulated. The Forensic Analysis.

Though I am also into Forensic analysis of Phone crashes. This dissection of the Human body was too much and was upto a point psychobabble for me.

Ahh... well the occasion was a Friends marriage were we had met up. This was the least of the places to discuss this. and yet we were there. Actually all of us were discussing the fanatic/lunatic person who cud do such an act.

Coming bak to the woolmer murder. Some questions remain unanswered :

1. Why did Pakistan team carry on with the last game rather than forfeit the last match. I would have done that(whatever Its sill yto play the tournament rider games if ur coach is dead[murdered]).

2. Woolmer's hotel room could be opened using a smart card only unless he himself opened the door. Then Why is it taking ages to figure out jus tthe people in the Hotel at the time.

3. Why did 2 pak team members fuss over the finger printing by polize.

The Saddest Q which is emerging.....

Who wants to be a Millionaire ? (by being the pak team coach ;-) ).
Caveat is that he will pay with his life and never end up spending the Millions he earns.
~P

Woolmer ka Akalik maran.

The Woolmer incident increasingly appears a case of murder by a pakistan cricket Team member @ the behest of a bookie.
Whoever this bookie is he has to be nailed asap. It appears the same guy cud have been the cause of Hansie Cronje's death also. And he is well-connected going by the nature of the crime.

Pakistani policticians and players names were supposed to figure in Woolmers book.Sad to know Pakistanis cricketers are murderers and when we do play cricket it would appear to me that we are up against the Terrorists.

I still remmeber how our Late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was found dead in his room at Tashkent on the morning of January 11, 1966. It was given out that he died of heart failure. But suspicion that he was poisoned to death lingers on. No detailed inquiry into his death was made. Indian physician Dr. Chugh, who had accompanied him to Tashkent was mysteriously liquidated sometime later.
Long live Paki Bashing..I hate pakis and their bloody games and politics.Really the pakis don;t know the difference between games and politics and the thin line is finally sealed by Murder and such ghastly acts by them.

~P.

Living on my own!

My Folks started on a trip of North Indian religious places.

My aunt is also accompanying them. So here i am, alone living on my own.

Still without Papa and Aai the place looks submerged in nothingness.

TV is no consolation or consequence et all.

I am experimenting and learning the finer points of cooking meanwhile.... [err.. did i hear someone just say good husband material :-( ... But, i am just experimenting :-) ]

Adios Amigos!

~P

Bed, Bath & Beyond

Since yesterday the Water pump which used to pump water to the overhead tank in our house is malfunctioning.

So water is at a premium folks...Just 2 buckets left...

All my thoughts go about the ablution process LOL . Right now Methinks of just conserving water by sparse usage , scraping thru the bath and beyond neeeds.

Need to crash into the bed now. Also need to think of alternatives to this water source if the pump is not repaired by 12 noon tomorrow.

Sorry fellas this blog is not for the general public but for people who wanna peek@ma daily chores ;-)

I happen to be a cleanliness freak so the thoughts on bed/bath and breakfast are all linked.

• Right now i am crashing with a thot of water scarcity in ma mind.
• Thinking of the bath tomorrow N
• since i do not have ma grub without my bath it all seems a vicious circle :))
  

In short ....

Mera man ab subah ke mansubeyh bana raha hain!

~P.

Datz me in Fotographers/Trekkers Gear

Ranga Shankara : Wher the Connoisseur cometh alive.....

I teamed up with Luke and Avinash to go to "Ranga Shankar" a Theatre in the heart of JP Nagar today. I was bit skeptical about the innards of the theatre(never having been to any art theatres before).

But what came out eventually was a Complete Revelation!!

We bought the tickets for the show which was slated from 7 to 9 pm and was a Ugadi special.

Once inside we sat very close to the stage. It was very silly of me to think that the sound systems would be jarring and we would have a touch time hearing the Act if we sit on the edge.

The usual request to switch of mobiles was made. I had done that already...

The first act was by Umesh Nayak from Hubli who was playing the part of the Legendary Da Ra Bendre...

When He started off in Dharwad kannada I was in splits. I could identify with the Language the tone and the Slangs like the back of my hand. I then started realising the genius that Bendre was. Having never studied kannada medium I cannot immediately understand kannada prose n poetry. but this time it was different.

Bendre's language is so simple and yet so poetic, that satire hides in his every line. Later on my dad told me that Bendre used to roam the city streets of dharwad and had seen life@dharwad in close quarters. During the first Mono-Act Play I suddenly felt uprooted from my place and placed @ the watch tower in Dharwad.

Overall I am still spellbound by the Show, the actor and the playwright.

The Next event was a hilarious act by Master Hiranniah and his son junior Hiranniah. These two were so amazing that it never appeared for an instant that they were father-son duo.

Alls well that ends well. The ending was a song sung by a unknown theatre persona. She was joined by the back stage people. So it was a very good ending.

Finally the Modest and simple Arundhati Nag introduced us to the star cast. And the importance of the event Ugadi. She has done a yeoman service to all the Connoisseurs in Bangalore city by starting Ranga Shankara.

I look forward to many more such events where I can whet the appetite of the Connoissuer in me. Hats off to the brilliant performance i witnessed today. The Sound systems are amazing.

Having been an ardent fan of Shankar Nag and Malgudi Days, I see some shades of his handiwork in this place overall.

I feel, the touch of this brilliant Director,Actor and Visionary still lurks in the pillars of Ranga Shankara long after he is gone.

~P

Power and its Perils...

Its Saturday and Ive been lazing around the house as usual. Especially since all my body parts(spare parts 2 b precise) are in a bad shape. I have been riding my bike to office(50kms) daily.

Simbly feel sapped for energy ;-) . I seem so Powerless could not venture out of my house at all.

So here i am bloggin in powerless.

Read this story of how Nuclear Fission reaction was triggered accidentally. It means Japan being such an advanced country and a Super Power could not avert Nuclear accidents. What If Terrorists and Islamic Countries like pakistan and Afghanistan have such accidents ?

Would they trigger a major Holocaust which can affect the neighbours ????

Or

Can they do such a thing to their neighbours ?. Well it sure is a scary Question for America and India who have been targets of the most heinous Terrorist attacks.

ISrael I assume meanwhile can safegaurd its interests better than anyone in the world.

Well the answer ? There is no democracy or decent government in Pakistan and the Afghanistan.

Sometimes no(such) News is Good News :)

What say ?

~P

One Laptop Per Child : Balloony Schemes I say!

I welcome the Government decision not to buy Computers for kids. After all, Education is better if the student is interested and the Teacher helps him understand things.

With a Lappy I see N no.of distractions. Where N tends to infinity. examples..games music.

While these are required for a kid but a Laptop providing them such content will wane their interests and the schooling system will collapse. And we will have school dropouts jumping to Reggae and such Music.

Right now India can ill afford the 100$ laptop. And the same can be paid towards the mid day meals of the kids.

India badly needs these rather than a Laptop :

1) Good government that is limited, efficient and run by ethical people with enlightened liberal (as in Locke, not Marx) attitudes toward individuals and their worth. Currently there are so many deaths that value of Life means nothing to the politicians in the Highest Echelons of power.

2) Investment into much needed Critical infrastructure (like roads bridges highways subways Metro Rail) to enable higher and longer quality of life.

3) Populations with a good, liberal education that isn't just focused on math and science.

~P

What A Week !

What drove Me Crazy this Week:

1. My Haircut (it will drive ppl crazy also)

2. People that clip their nails in the office next to you and you can hear it. Ew.

3. Working in The Office (25 kms from ma home). Bollocks!!!!

4. The big gash on my hand that makes it hurt when I type.

5. The Episode on History channel which glorified Karan Johar. Where a clown said that Karan is an amazin Director bcoz "He makes movies which he wants to make" ( What a Moron, he shud be makin movies the Masses can relate to! )


Good Stuff this Week:

1. Random dinner @ eating street VVPuram.

2. My crooning sessions with fellow Systolicans.

3. Very exciting episodes of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes."

4. Getting my Dad's favourite song to play in his Mobile.

5. I silenced one prick in our company bus who was makin fun of me.

6. Bluetooth: I got some cool songs from my buddy in the bus via Bluetooth. What Tech Man :) It just amazes me.

~P

of Undefinable Moments and lost Effervescence

The Beauty of Nature is sometimes both Ephemeral and Poignant. To be able to appreciate this Fragile Fleeting beauty is a Gift worth having.
But alas the Politicians in India, or for that matter Bangalore are blinded by Materialistic avenues of life. Today I saw that one of a very Beautiful and Big Tree has been cut to make way for a Huge Building on Richmond road. This tree must have been a 100 years old easliy.
I used to observe this tree while on my way back home in my Company Shuttle daily.It used to show the sense of sacrifice and Giving nature of the Tree. It gives shade and succour and never did ask anyone for any damn thing. Today it somehwat feels like I have lost one loved one to the man made concoctions of Life.
The Tree must have blossomed like a flower, The wind must have blown through its different branches. Now all that is gone. I cease for words when I think of this Tree.Though i never touched the Tree, Climbing/Sitting on it rather would be impossible as it was soo high it would have evaded my grasp.It was an Indefinable moment to see it Alive. words such as "Rest In Peace" do not make sense here I believe.
God knows how long this exhibition of Human Moronic behaviour of cutting Trees and bleeding nature is going to last and how many such Trees lose their Life. Our future generations will have to visit a Museum to believe that such splendour of nature existed once.

~P

In Need of some Sound advice

I got a guitar alright....But now what ?
I need some sound advice :) .... how to start the strumming....
some amatuer Qs....
1. When to use the left hand and when to use the right ?
2. There are 6 strings and we hace five fingers on each hand which finger to use for the sixth one ?
3. What is a note /// come on all the internet guitar mumbo jumbo is too much to handle.


Who's gonna drive me Home ?

~P

[QOTM] March 2007

We need to live each moment.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

-John Lennon

Systolica debuts to a FullHouse and lotsa Cheers!

Our Samsung in-house band SYSTOLICA debuted yesterday.

SYSTOLIC is the part of the heart beat when the heart contracts.

This name was suggested by Me :) . The Logo was also in part suggested by me and was touched up by Tushar.

I was also instrumental in getting Sanjeev Tyagi and some other singers which kick started the Band.

Coming to my singing,

Personally I was not at my best as I had official work and a sore throat. I sang the song "Take It Easy - Eagles", this song has been one of my personal favourites. I forgot the lyrics in between but somehow pulled it across.

The message of this song is, "You shouldn't get too big too fast."

The relatively un-heard of song ensured my mistake was not noted at all. I repeated the first paragraf neatly. pulling myself togather by that time.

Overall my performance was flagged off as "Very good". All the Hindi songs also went on great. Around 80% of the crowd were on the edge of their seat. They never expected it to come out so good.

There were some section of the crowd who were there just to kill time. This set of people I believe are not open to change and were very miffed over our good progress of just 3 days. Especially memory solutions division kiddos who r straight outta college.

Higlight being Tushar's performance (Drums) goes from Best to the Bestest :). Really perfection getting bested :)

It iz a great pleasure to jam with these people N I am lovin it :).

yeah...But Itz not enuff...I need to get an "Awesome" rating from the crowd when I sing for the next show. I guess next time i will sing some song which will discount me from the country singer tag :)

-Stay Tuned.

A Balancing act

From 3 months now (Dec/Jan/Feb) I have been receiving many emails about colleagues and friends being proud fathers of Babies(not exactly spam :) ).
Of this Dec to mid jan was without a doubt about baby girls being born. And from mid-Jan to Feb itz about the Baby Boys being born.
Nature has its own way of balancing the male/female ratio. Then again its just my observation (probably just Me).

China is urging couples to get one baby per family only. Thus chinese having boy or gal preferences may have it tough. But @ the end of it all a Nature's balancing act is in progress :) which restores parity. Talking of population control, china is realising the importance of controlling its burgeoning population. India on the other hand may need to worry as the population scales maybe bring forth problems unseen before. Wonder what the Government can do about it at all rather than spreading word. Unlike china where it can force the populace into following the rules.

~P.

Pug Marks of a Leader : SAMSUNG

Most Products in the Market fall into 2 categories

1. Use and Throw

2. Re-usable

One case in study for the re-usable products is Printers. Printers are re-usable after changing the Cartridges which are central to the Printers functioning. Printer Companies basically survive on this piece of InkMachine called Cartridge. Cartridge sales keep revenues from Printers going. Thus After-Sales is a bigger Behemoth than the product itself. Companies which neglect this aspect have a touch chance to survive in the market. All products have bugs, due to which After-Sales Service assumes that much more importance. Significant revenues are made in this stream.

Coming to our Samsung Phones, recently we have come up with standard connectors for Phone/charging/headset across phone models. So users can upgrade handsets without changing the accessories which remain standard. This is a very good move from the Samsung stable which leaves the backdoor open. The user can upgrade phones once in two years and still remain comfortable with the new hardware. After Sales Revenue is what constitutes a major chunk of revenue for big Majors like HP and Dell.But I guess brand building and Sales assume more importance than the after sales @ Samsung.

Personally I am Bigtime happy about my Samsung Mobile :) itz a MOTO Razor clone from the Samsung stable and is a whole lot better than MOTORAZOR. Itz a 3G phone and has better power consumption than RAZR. UI is amazing. Itz sold in the Italian Market and called Tuscani.

~P

Kursk : The ill-fated Russian Submarine.

All that remains of the Kursk is a nuclear Coffin @ the Ocean bed.

Death of the Idiot Box

Well I was blog-shying for sometime now. My health was on the downside. It still is for that matter. Anyways...

In the 21st century, I do not see Television as a source of Trashed entertainment and don;t think it qualifies to be called an Idiot Box. With some channels (like below) TV viewing is a continous intellectual harvest of sorts

• History Channel
• Discovery
• Travel & Living
• National Geographic
  

Today I was feeling very listless and in my confused state i turned to the TV. { I believe most of us do the same and TV is meant to lighten the spirits }

But the moment I was on National Geographic channel my heart missed a beat. The program which was on air was about the Kursk Submarine disaster. While the whole episode had me hanging on the edge of our sofa, at the end of it I was shaken and stirred completely. Kursk was a Russian Nuclear Cruise missile Submarine.

The Program was aptly titled "Splits seconds away from Disaster".
It shows how some faulty soldering in one of the Torpedoes caused a major catastrophe Russians can never forget in their History or lifetime. Until that time I was of opinion that some American Torpedoe had hit the Russian Sub. 110 Russian Navy Officers perished in what could have been a Blot on the Face of the earth.

The program shows how a brave Russian navy officer on board the KURSK had averted the mishap into turning into a Major Nuclear Blast and Catastrophe. He powered ON the 2 Nuclear Reactors safety mechanisms which averted the engufing of the Nuke Reactors. Hats off to this guy bcoz from all accounts it appears that Sailors had a split second for this. and They still saved Humanity from the Dangers of a Nuclear Blast and a Radio active ocean.

Surely another Chernobyl was in the making.

I would advice the reader to watch this episode again if possible. So that I will not divulge the details here. After this I wud never call my Samsung Plano TV an idiot box ;-)

Some Kursk Info : Barents Sea, 12 August 2000:

1. It is believed that fuel leaking from a torpedo ignited, causing fire and a devastating explosion in the Kursk's forward sections

2. Russian rescue subs tried and failed to open escape hatches. Further rescue attempts abandoned after Norwegian divers finally managed to open a hatch, and found the boat totally flooded

3. It was later discovered that some 23 sailors survived in compartment 9 at the stern for several hours after the explosion.

{Please don't attach any pun or irony to the blog heading and the latter part of the blog. I respect all the Brave Russian Navy officers who laid their Life in the line of duty}

~P

If ( I_Love_SOmeone) everyday = Valentine_Day;

Someone asked Me . .. what are you doing today ?? (Valentine day)

N I said ... :)

If i love someone, everyday wud happen to be a valentine day!

(readers might cry 'grapes are sour'

I would say sour as red wine ;-) )



Chill Maadi
~P.

Lounge Piranha : Striking the Chords right !

Or I meant to say that they strike the right Chord in you!
As i listened to this new band Lounge Piranha. The songs appear to be a new genre altogather.
No its not Fusion. Its just plain simple creative genius which is churning out some cool music these dayz.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=131473277
http://www.myspace.com/loungepiranhamusic

First thoughts on listening to them, Wow :) thatz cool n Neat aint it ?
MeThinks Vocals are cool, Strumming effort is superb.
This is the kind of music u can listen to any time of the day to soothe the Nerves. Well couldn't catch the lyrics with streaming playing a spoilsport. I guess these guyz are going to give al lthe big bands a run for their name n fame. I mean Gangamma;s gig and Thermal and a Quarter are some good bands which seem comparable to Lounge Piranha.
Me Looking forward to more of such new age Piranhic music :) rather than listen to the old bands performing stale gigs @ rock shows and concerts thru out Bangalore!
(Ironically) Ebb seems to be their top creation till date.

~P.

-\/\/\/ Brain vs Brawn /\/\/\-

Interesting anecdote from George Bernard Shaw.

Brain vs Brawn

The celebrated dancer Isadora Duncan once wrote to George Bernard Shaw declaring that, given the principles of eugenics, they should have a child together.
"Think of it!" she enthused. "With my body and your brains, what a wonder it would be."
"Yes," Shaw replied. "But what if it had my body and your brains?"

LIFE :__A ghastly perspective__

I am a person with modest means and living(don't laugh now!!). I do nurture a slightly neurotic obsession for the Surreal. That being the case I could not but check my enthusiasm for the SCARY HOUSE, when we friends went to Garuda Mall last Saturday.
There is a new amusement house which has opened up next to the Movie Hall INOX.Itz named the "SCARY HOUSE" and it sure appears scary initially though. We Four friends in all decided to take the plunge ;-). We paid the 40 bucks per head charge and entered the door. We met the first actor who was dressed as a Ghoul He did try to be scary for sometime, But we were not amused by it :( .

Seeing the utter darkness which stared at us in our face, Santosh my friend lost it.He could not take it any more and went straight out of the door we had come from.
This left Suresh myself and Vinoo. All 3 qualify as Severely Brain damaged Ghosts in broad daylight ;-).Our argument was " lets see who scares whom :) ". So we decided to go ahead and check out the SCARY HOUSE inmates.
I as usual led the charge. And as was expected the element of Scariness was made up of some props which displayed skulls and ghostly figures hung on the wall. The catch was some props actually are actors and try to scare the Hell out of us.

We persisted with all the Ghosts(actors rather) and came to the middle of this house. Here we decided to play a toughie on the SCARY HOUSE inmates. We planned to lie low in some corner not watched by the inmates and when any one comes out to check us out. We would scare the living daylights outta him!!! ALAS,...that was not to be...one such ghost had seen us plot it :-). He switched on the lights and called our bluff.We then hurriedly moved onto the second last room. Here there was what appeared to be a statue of a bed ridden ghost.
As we passed by it, the Ghost hurriedly started moving towards Suresh and Vinoo. Both were shell shocked and zapped. They immediately rushed to me to hold me and pave the way out as I was leading them. I had by then figured out the door and moved to the last room.
Here I was to face the NightMare! :). the Last room had one ghostly figure scaring me as I was leading the team. He had bones in his hand and waved at me.By reflex or say a Knee-jerk reaction I went all out to hit him :-(. One other person by then switched on the Lights and asked us not to hit him and leave the place.I returned to my senses{ did I ? ;-) }.
I realised what a blunder I would have made had i hit the person.

All the while I had this in mind that this act was just to amuse us but still somehow i slipped up and was on the verge of losing my self-control.

If you see the above episode in a different light, you would see that the society has made some Lives easier by making others difficult.

For instance the ghost actors might be paid some compensation daily to scare the shit out of blokes for sheer fun.But what do they lose in the process?

MeThinks

• They have to sit in a corner of a Dark room all day! , Imagine that withour comforts of working in a well lit Cubicle and frequent coffee haunts to the cafeteria.
• Salary hike at a appointed time every year.
• We get Gifts and Goodies year round.
• We are safe in our Software Factories (if i may say so ) Sometimes they might be at the receiving due to the stupidity of some fellas like me.
  
• Overall I see that the Fun Element has a very depressing tone to it in the SCARY HOUSE.Some might say "Lifes like that". All i can say is "Lucky Me" hoping the inmates of SCARY HOUSE earn a decent buck for all that they Forego to let some people have a good Weekend.
  
  A Stirred but not Shaken prasanna signing off!
  ~P

[QOTM] Money Money!!

“We are in danger of being overwhelmed with irredeemable paper, mere paper, representing not gold nor silver; no sir, representing nothing but broken promises, bad faith, bankrupt corporations, cheated creditors and a ruined people.”

Daniel Webster, speech in the Senate, 1833

With Appraisal season (@work) and Election season (in some parts of India) folks bear this naked truth in mind :-)

~P