The original and the inspired.
Sublime? Ridiculous? Decide for yourself.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Goodness Gracious Me
Monday, July 21, 2008
Gold ?
A point of view and another. Obviously not unbiased, but makes valid points.
I feel vindicated for buying gold at 1100/gm.
I feel vindicated for buying gold at 1100/gm.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
How to pick an autorickshaw in bangalore
I have travelled a lot in Bangalore's autorickshaws, and continue to do so. The reasons are mostly laziness, frustration in driving through traffic, difficulty in finding parking spots, etc... but that is besides the point.
Based on my vast experience in this domain, I have built up an intricate methodology of choosing a rick, which, for the greater benefit of (wo)mankind, I shall share on this forum. So here goes. The usual disclaimers apply.
1. The quest begins when you sight the quarry - an empty rick cruising at 10 kmph in the fastest lane. The game begins when the two of you make eye contact.
2. If the rick driver( henceforth referred to as Ricky. Not a coincidence that most of them are abrasive like the Aussie captain ) looks eagerly at you and makes towards you, something is seriously wrong. This is extremely abnormal behaviour for a ricky, and he is probably a Tupperware/Amway salesman or a serial killer. Or Mahesh Bhatt, scouting for talent to replace Emraan Hashmi. Run for your life.
3. If ricky either ignores you completely or looks at you in a disinterested way, thats the first positive signal. The chase is on in real earnest now.
4. Always look at the approaching ricky in a non-committal way. Dont ever show interest in your eyes. This is a valuable technique whose benefit will be demonstrated in later sections, for bailing out at the last moment.
5. Once it is ascertained that ricky might be right for you, we proceed to stage two - non-verbal negotiation.
6. Judge ricky. This is the most critical step in the entire exercise. Based on your eyesight and traffic, you get around 2-5 seconds to size up the individual. Following are tell-tale No-Go signs
- Ricky wears kumkum on forehead
- Ricky is young and looks like he just flunked Class 12.
- Ricky has a mush and a stubble. ( as opposed to a mush only or a full beard )
- Ricky has top two buttons of his shirt open
- Ricky wears gold chain
The rationale for these psycho-profiling pointers shall be covered in a different post.
Following are safe Go signs
- Ricky is an old man ( not old and weak )
- Ricky is middle-aged and follows traffic rules
6. Judge the rick. The rick tells a tale about the ricky. Following are clear No-Go signs
- Old ricks in bad condition ( Old ricks guzzle more fuel, and this will be passed on to the consumer. In the form of a doctored meter.)
- Rick has a Karnataka flag
- Rick has pimped-up speakers
Following are safe Go signs
- Rick has electronic meter and looks well-maintained.
7. If rick/ricky clears preliminary rick-profiling, then make clear eye-contact with ricky and summon the rick. In the unlikely event that ricky does indeed stop, proceed to phase 3 - verbal-negotiation.
8. The more important step - rick-profiling is Negative. This is where the bailing-out move comes in. Since you have not made clear eye-contact till now, you can just pretend to be looking at the cow/lamppost/girl on the opposite side of the street, and thus bail-out.
9. Phase 3 - Verbal negotiation. This is where coping with rejection will come in handy. Most ricky's stop only to humour themselves, and not to offer you a ride. Accept that fact of life. The rest of the negotiation is fairly standard, and need not be covered. The only hitch could be if you noticed something about ricky/rick from close quarters, that you missed from the distance. In such cases, use my patented dont-pick-me-up line -
" Thanisandra ge hogi, alli 2 hours waiting iddu, aamele Bidadi ge hogbeku. Barteera ? "
Its a sure-fire rick-magnet... repels ricks like the wrong end of a magnet.
10. Once inside the rick, sit tight and hope that ricky doesnt stop enroute to help out his fellow-ricky's in street fights.
Thats about it... Keep Rocking, Keep Ricking !
Based on my vast experience in this domain, I have built up an intricate methodology of choosing a rick, which, for the greater benefit of (wo)mankind, I shall share on this forum. So here goes. The usual disclaimers apply.
1. The quest begins when you sight the quarry - an empty rick cruising at 10 kmph in the fastest lane. The game begins when the two of you make eye contact.
2. If the rick driver( henceforth referred to as Ricky. Not a coincidence that most of them are abrasive like the Aussie captain ) looks eagerly at you and makes towards you, something is seriously wrong. This is extremely abnormal behaviour for a ricky, and he is probably a Tupperware/Amway salesman or a serial killer. Or Mahesh Bhatt, scouting for talent to replace Emraan Hashmi. Run for your life.
3. If ricky either ignores you completely or looks at you in a disinterested way, thats the first positive signal. The chase is on in real earnest now.
4. Always look at the approaching ricky in a non-committal way. Dont ever show interest in your eyes. This is a valuable technique whose benefit will be demonstrated in later sections, for bailing out at the last moment.
5. Once it is ascertained that ricky might be right for you, we proceed to stage two - non-verbal negotiation.
6. Judge ricky. This is the most critical step in the entire exercise. Based on your eyesight and traffic, you get around 2-5 seconds to size up the individual. Following are tell-tale No-Go signs
- Ricky wears kumkum on forehead
- Ricky is young and looks like he just flunked Class 12.
- Ricky has a mush and a stubble. ( as opposed to a mush only or a full beard )
- Ricky has top two buttons of his shirt open
- Ricky wears gold chain
The rationale for these psycho-profiling pointers shall be covered in a different post.
Following are safe Go signs
- Ricky is an old man ( not old and weak )
- Ricky is middle-aged and follows traffic rules
6. Judge the rick. The rick tells a tale about the ricky. Following are clear No-Go signs
- Old ricks in bad condition ( Old ricks guzzle more fuel, and this will be passed on to the consumer. In the form of a doctored meter.)
- Rick has a Karnataka flag
- Rick has pimped-up speakers
Following are safe Go signs
- Rick has electronic meter and looks well-maintained.
7. If rick/ricky clears preliminary rick-profiling, then make clear eye-contact with ricky and summon the rick. In the unlikely event that ricky does indeed stop, proceed to phase 3 - verbal-negotiation.
8. The more important step - rick-profiling is Negative. This is where the bailing-out move comes in. Since you have not made clear eye-contact till now, you can just pretend to be looking at the cow/lamppost/girl on the opposite side of the street, and thus bail-out.
9. Phase 3 - Verbal negotiation. This is where coping with rejection will come in handy. Most ricky's stop only to humour themselves, and not to offer you a ride. Accept that fact of life. The rest of the negotiation is fairly standard, and need not be covered. The only hitch could be if you noticed something about ricky/rick from close quarters, that you missed from the distance. In such cases, use my patented dont-pick-me-up line -
" Thanisandra ge hogi, alli 2 hours waiting iddu, aamele Bidadi ge hogbeku. Barteera ? "
Its a sure-fire rick-magnet... repels ricks like the wrong end of a magnet.
10. Once inside the rick, sit tight and hope that ricky doesnt stop enroute to help out his fellow-ricky's in street fights.
Thats about it... Keep Rocking, Keep Ricking !
Betting on people
There should be a legal system to bet on people's success/failure. It will allow poor people like me to make some easy money.
You just know when you see certain people ( Priyanka Chopra, Paul Collingwood, Brendon McCullum ) that they are destined to make it big; however humble their beginnings.
You also know when u see certain other people ( countless boy/girl bands ) that, they are going to fade away from the limelight and from our collective consciousness, however aggressively they are marketed.
Very unfortunate that this cannot be translated into legal income in India (yet) :(
You just know when you see certain people ( Priyanka Chopra, Paul Collingwood, Brendon McCullum ) that they are destined to make it big; however humble their beginnings.
You also know when u see certain other people ( countless boy/girl bands ) that, they are going to fade away from the limelight and from our collective consciousness, however aggressively they are marketed.
Very unfortunate that this cannot be translated into legal income in India (yet) :(
My Home Theater
... is almost complete.
It has been almost complete for 6 months now. First there is the cosy room, then there is the expensive 5.1 speaker system, and finally the obscenely expensive wiring. ( wonder how I fell for that one! )
Now all I need to complete the experience is... a f*****g TV !
Note to self: Be a man and do it this week...
It has been almost complete for 6 months now. First there is the cosy room, then there is the expensive 5.1 speaker system, and finally the obscenely expensive wiring. ( wonder how I fell for that one! )
Now all I need to complete the experience is... a f*****g TV !
Note to self: Be a man and do it this week...
Friday, July 18, 2008
Of phobias and nightmares
I've been having trouble sleeping at night for the last week or so... What better way to kill time than to add to the wealth of knowledge online :-)
A couple of months ago, my cousin, Sin, was narrating a disturbing dream that she had the previous night. Apparently, she dreamt that she was being attacked by a monstrous black cat. She woke up with a start, and couldnt sleep well for the remainder of the night. On the same topic, another cuz, Shu, started talking about some common nightmares that women frequently have( supposedly ). Seeing oneself with some physical deformity is the common theme of most of these nightmares. Eg. Loss of hair, teeth, scars on face etc. The psycho-analytic explanation of such dreams is apparently the insecurity of most people ( more so women than men ) about losing their physical attractiveness. Another common dream apparently concerns with the death of person(s) with whom one shares an emotional bond. Again, this is related to one's insecurities. Most other nightmares are apparently connected to recent events in one's life. For instance, the particular dream about a cat might have been due to the fact that she had just shut the window before sleeping, to keep a cat out.
I couldnt remember any nightmare I have ever had, and after some serious memory-digging, I realized that I had *never* had any nightmares in my entire life. My cousins were quite shocked, and also convinced that I was either lying thru my teeth, or was a very secure individual !
When I think about the same topic now, I still dont have a valid excuse(!) for not having nightmares, ever. The only plausible reason I can think of, is that I dont have any abnormal phobias.
I dont believe in ghosts or other evil supernatural forces ( which is quite strange, as I do believe in God ), and I would easily spend a night in a "haunted house" if required.
I love wildlife, and am particularly fascinated by reptiles. I have had too many close encounters with snakes to be scared of them. I have been charged by wild elephants and gotten dangerously close to a King Cobra and I still live to tell the tale.
I am not afraid of death or serious injury, nor of losing the people who really matter in my life.
Plus, I must've had a very happy childhood too...
All of this, or I might just be a very heavy sleeper with a bad memory ! :)
A couple of months ago, my cousin, Sin, was narrating a disturbing dream that she had the previous night. Apparently, she dreamt that she was being attacked by a monstrous black cat. She woke up with a start, and couldnt sleep well for the remainder of the night. On the same topic, another cuz, Shu, started talking about some common nightmares that women frequently have( supposedly ). Seeing oneself with some physical deformity is the common theme of most of these nightmares. Eg. Loss of hair, teeth, scars on face etc. The psycho-analytic explanation of such dreams is apparently the insecurity of most people ( more so women than men ) about losing their physical attractiveness. Another common dream apparently concerns with the death of person(s) with whom one shares an emotional bond. Again, this is related to one's insecurities. Most other nightmares are apparently connected to recent events in one's life. For instance, the particular dream about a cat might have been due to the fact that she had just shut the window before sleeping, to keep a cat out.
I couldnt remember any nightmare I have ever had, and after some serious memory-digging, I realized that I had *never* had any nightmares in my entire life. My cousins were quite shocked, and also convinced that I was either lying thru my teeth, or was a very secure individual !
When I think about the same topic now, I still dont have a valid excuse(!) for not having nightmares, ever. The only plausible reason I can think of, is that I dont have any abnormal phobias.
I dont believe in ghosts or other evil supernatural forces ( which is quite strange, as I do believe in God ), and I would easily spend a night in a "haunted house" if required.
I love wildlife, and am particularly fascinated by reptiles. I have had too many close encounters with snakes to be scared of them. I have been charged by wild elephants and gotten dangerously close to a King Cobra and I still live to tell the tale.
I am not afraid of death or serious injury, nor of losing the people who really matter in my life.
Plus, I must've had a very happy childhood too...
All of this, or I might just be a very heavy sleeper with a bad memory ! :)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Road ahead for US Automakers
Sounds pretty grim. Will be interesting to see how the Fords & GMs cope; apart from trying to sell sub-standard cars such as the Chevrolet Aveo, in places like India !
Friday, July 11, 2008
Monday, July 07, 2008
Recession 101
Michael Lewis(author of Liar's poker) writes on the ethical standards of Wall St
Deep-fried in contempt, but a realistic take nevertheless...
Deep-fried in contempt, but a realistic take nevertheless...
Food on Cunningham Road
Due to immense public demand ( public = my ex-colleagues at Amazon ), I am posting an insider's guide to fine dining in and around Cunningham Rd.
The eateries covered are in descending order of my preference, but there are so few places in this area, it really doesnt matter...
1. Ramana's - A great place in the Standard Chartered building on Cunningham Rd. Mellow ambience and mildly spicy veggie north-indian food that is easy on the tummy. The tariffs are quite reasonable for the location, and the service is pretty good. A place that you can visit daily without ruining your tummy or burning a hole in the pocket.
2. Masala House - A cosy little place tucked away in an unobtrusive location on Cunningham Rd, opposite MSIL. This is a slightly upscale place, and has a bar too. They have an interesting menu of veggie & non-veggie Indian food with some unconventional options. (I would recommend the sesame-fried babycorn appetizer) My non-veggie friends say that the place serves some good seafood too. The tariffs are quite high and the service is... well... dont go there if you are in a hurry !
I personally enjoy their paranthas and the sinful,heavenly Methi Malai Mutter...
3. InfiniTea - On Cunningham Rd, opposite Sigma Mall.
This is not really a lunch-lunch place, but does serve some interesting rice/pasta options. These can be combined with a variety of teas ( hot/cold/flavored ), to provide a light lunch-alternative. A note of warning - cheese seems to be the chef's favorite ingredient for most of the dishes.
4. Fresco's - On Cunningham Rd, close to Indian Express junction.
This again is not really a lunch-lunch place. The place does have more options than InfiniTea though; mostly continental. And they make a good Spanish Omelette.
5. Miller's 46 - At #46, Miller's Rd
A steak & sizzler joint. Good ambience, decent sizzlers, appropriate serving size for a lunch, and attached bar. Not many veggie options though. But worth a visit for the Corona Beer, and the gratis bread & butter. :)
6. Chalukya Hotel - High Grounds
One of the landmarks of the city, and not surprisingly, the place is chock-a-bloc at lunchtime. Serves a very respectable south-indian lunch buffet, which doesnt have too many options, but is quite wholesome. You can go a-la-carte too, though I've never tried that.
7. Moti Mahal, Sigma Mall
Very good Mughlai food, albeit at a ridiculously high price.
8. Oriental Spice, Infantry Road
Serves a decent Chinese buffet. But not very exciting, if you are a veggie.
9. Pizza Hut/ Domino's - On Cunningham Rd
Well... if pizza is what you want, you can get it here.
9a. Chandrika - Cunningham Rd
Basically a south-indian snack/coffee place, but he does serve the stereotypical north-indian thali. I reserve my comments on the quality of the food, and am covering this place only due to death threats received from certain quarters.
10. Food court, Sigma Mall
An assortment of places serving different cuisines. Most options are mediocre in taste, and mostly of the oily/greasy variety. Avoidable unless inevitable.
11. McDonald's, Sigma Mall
If burgers/pepsi/fries is what your heart wants...
12. Aura - Cunningham Rd
A nice place serving a good north-indian lunch buffet for 150 bucks. The place has shut shop now, but I thought it deserves an honourable mention...
Well, thats about it for the Cunningham Rd area.... If I have missed something, please do let me know...
Also, would really love to hear your opinions on the places covered !
The eateries covered are in descending order of my preference, but there are so few places in this area, it really doesnt matter...
1. Ramana's - A great place in the Standard Chartered building on Cunningham Rd. Mellow ambience and mildly spicy veggie north-indian food that is easy on the tummy. The tariffs are quite reasonable for the location, and the service is pretty good. A place that you can visit daily without ruining your tummy or burning a hole in the pocket.
2. Masala House - A cosy little place tucked away in an unobtrusive location on Cunningham Rd, opposite MSIL. This is a slightly upscale place, and has a bar too. They have an interesting menu of veggie & non-veggie Indian food with some unconventional options. (I would recommend the sesame-fried babycorn appetizer) My non-veggie friends say that the place serves some good seafood too. The tariffs are quite high and the service is... well... dont go there if you are in a hurry !
I personally enjoy their paranthas and the sinful,heavenly Methi Malai Mutter...
3. InfiniTea - On Cunningham Rd, opposite Sigma Mall.
This is not really a lunch-lunch place, but does serve some interesting rice/pasta options. These can be combined with a variety of teas ( hot/cold/flavored ), to provide a light lunch-alternative. A note of warning - cheese seems to be the chef's favorite ingredient for most of the dishes.
4. Fresco's - On Cunningham Rd, close to Indian Express junction.
This again is not really a lunch-lunch place. The place does have more options than InfiniTea though; mostly continental. And they make a good Spanish Omelette.
5. Miller's 46 - At #46, Miller's Rd
A steak & sizzler joint. Good ambience, decent sizzlers, appropriate serving size for a lunch, and attached bar. Not many veggie options though. But worth a visit for the Corona Beer, and the gratis bread & butter. :)
6. Chalukya Hotel - High Grounds
One of the landmarks of the city, and not surprisingly, the place is chock-a-bloc at lunchtime. Serves a very respectable south-indian lunch buffet, which doesnt have too many options, but is quite wholesome. You can go a-la-carte too, though I've never tried that.
7. Moti Mahal, Sigma Mall
Very good Mughlai food, albeit at a ridiculously high price.
8. Oriental Spice, Infantry Road
Serves a decent Chinese buffet. But not very exciting, if you are a veggie.
9. Pizza Hut/ Domino's - On Cunningham Rd
Well... if pizza is what you want, you can get it here.
9a. Chandrika - Cunningham Rd
Basically a south-indian snack/coffee place, but he does serve the stereotypical north-indian thali. I reserve my comments on the quality of the food, and am covering this place only due to death threats received from certain quarters.
10. Food court, Sigma Mall
An assortment of places serving different cuisines. Most options are mediocre in taste, and mostly of the oily/greasy variety. Avoidable unless inevitable.
11. McDonald's, Sigma Mall
If burgers/pepsi/fries is what your heart wants...
12. Aura - Cunningham Rd
A nice place serving a good north-indian lunch buffet for 150 bucks. The place has shut shop now, but I thought it deserves an honourable mention...
Well, thats about it for the Cunningham Rd area.... If I have missed something, please do let me know...
Also, would really love to hear your opinions on the places covered !
Ads...
Started thinking about some of the ads from the past, and found a few of them...
The iconic black coffee ad. Talk about mindshare and brand recall !
Another cute one - Bru Coffee, capturing the quintessential south-indian psyche to a nicety...
A recent one, really cute and very retro - Tanishq.
There was this Yamaha ad, which was aired for a very brief while. The ad didnt strike any chord with the audience, but the song was great.
...and my personal favorite, the Hamara Bajaj ad.
I get goosebumps everytime this jingle is played. Wonder if its the ad, or just a sign that I am getting old...
The iconic black coffee ad. Talk about mindshare and brand recall !
Another cute one - Bru Coffee, capturing the quintessential south-indian psyche to a nicety...
A recent one, really cute and very retro - Tanishq.
There was this Yamaha ad, which was aired for a very brief while. The ad didnt strike any chord with the audience, but the song was great.
...and my personal favorite, the Hamara Bajaj ad.
I get goosebumps everytime this jingle is played. Wonder if its the ad, or just a sign that I am getting old...
Sunday, July 06, 2008
The Science of Scotch
Here's something to lift your spirits....
http://nyas.cachefly.net/scotch.mp3
And more...
http://www.thescotchblog.com/2006/02/into_the_wood.html
http://nyas.cachefly.net/scotch.mp3
And more...
http://www.thescotchblog.com/2006/02/into_the_wood.html
Saturday, July 05, 2008
The ubiquitous liftman
I find it very annoying when I enter an elevator in a public building, and find a lift operator within. I just don't understand the value that this individual adds to the situation. How hard is it to lift up a finger and push a button ? Instead, one is now compelled to have a conversation(albeit brief) with a person, who invariably looks extremely bored. ( can you really blame him ? )
An American friend and me went to a restaurant today, and seeing a lift operator there, we got to talking about this situation. Apparently, this is something rare in the US, and my friend was aghast that someone would actually choose this as a profession. The conversation veered to other things, but this got me thinking on the way back home...
Why does a business establishment hire a lift operator ? And why does a person choose to be a lift operator?
The second Q is probably easier to answer; most parts of India are still not "shining", and this is as good a job as many others for the man to put food on his family's table. ( I know for a fact that the lift operator at my previous office gets around Rs 4000/pm for his efforts, and he must be struggling to make ends meet in Bangalore. )
But, I wonder why an organization would feel the need to hire a lift operator...
To me, it can only be because they feel it is beneath their employees' dignity to operate an elevator for themselves. (not sure if the employees concur on this; most of my acquaintances share my view on the situation.)
This, combined with the fact that it costs next to nothing to hire a lift operator, reflects poorly on the state of our nation.
In my mind, India would be a step closer to "shining" when I no longer see any lift operators around. To me, it would indicate two things :
1. Each one of us doesnt believe it is beneath his/her dignity to perform simple tasks such as operating an elevator.
2. There are so many better employment opportunities available, that nobody wants to be a lift operator.
An American friend and me went to a restaurant today, and seeing a lift operator there, we got to talking about this situation. Apparently, this is something rare in the US, and my friend was aghast that someone would actually choose this as a profession. The conversation veered to other things, but this got me thinking on the way back home...
Why does a business establishment hire a lift operator ? And why does a person choose to be a lift operator?
The second Q is probably easier to answer; most parts of India are still not "shining", and this is as good a job as many others for the man to put food on his family's table. ( I know for a fact that the lift operator at my previous office gets around Rs 4000/pm for his efforts, and he must be struggling to make ends meet in Bangalore. )
But, I wonder why an organization would feel the need to hire a lift operator...
To me, it can only be because they feel it is beneath their employees' dignity to operate an elevator for themselves. (not sure if the employees concur on this; most of my acquaintances share my view on the situation.)
This, combined with the fact that it costs next to nothing to hire a lift operator, reflects poorly on the state of our nation.
In my mind, India would be a step closer to "shining" when I no longer see any lift operators around. To me, it would indicate two things :
1. Each one of us doesnt believe it is beneath his/her dignity to perform simple tasks such as operating an elevator.
2. There are so many better employment opportunities available, that nobody wants to be a lift operator.
Friday, July 04, 2008
I miss my bike !
I really do... I never should have parted with my 2000-model Suzuki Fiero 150cc ride...
I cant help reminiscing about all those long rides that we used to go on, mostly in the middle of the night, when the world was sleeping... And you always treated me well; had only 3 serious falls and just one near-death moment !
But we had to move on... u understand right?
The big bad guv-ment wants me to wear a helmet... And the ride wouldnt be as enjoyable with protection, u know that, right ?
Anyway, thanks for the memories and hope you are doing good with your new ride... For me, there probably never will be another one after you... The car's not as exciting, but she cares more about me...
I cant help reminiscing about all those long rides that we used to go on, mostly in the middle of the night, when the world was sleeping... And you always treated me well; had only 3 serious falls and just one near-death moment !
But we had to move on... u understand right?
The big bad guv-ment wants me to wear a helmet... And the ride wouldnt be as enjoyable with protection, u know that, right ?
Anyway, thanks for the memories and hope you are doing good with your new ride... For me, there probably never will be another one after you... The car's not as exciting, but she cares more about me...
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