Shyam's Blog

Job Satisfaction Matrix

2012-02-03T06:19:00.002-05:00

Statement - A taxi driver in the US has better job satisfaction than a manager in India!
After reading a few things about motivations to work and related satisfaction at work, I deduced how different it is work in cultures with different environmental setup.

Parameters considered:
1. Money - How much of a factor money is playing on their life? Are they achieving their goals? Is money a motivation factor for them to work?
2. People/Customers - People at work place and customer behavior has an impact on job satisfaction. Better these values are, job satisfaction enhances.
3. Work environment - Support from policies, processes, organization system, etc make it a factor to make or break positive attitude at work.
4. Stress (de-stress factor) - Stress creates a sense of fear, in turn affecting performance. Hence, it is a factor to consider. In my calculation, higher the de-stressing value, better is the effect.

Driver
1. Money - In India or US, person in this field will be little satisfied with the earnings. They always try to earn more and in most scenarios, are in debt. In a scale of 1 to 10, it is 5/10 in India and 6/10 in US. 5/10 vs 6/10
People/Customers - People/customers are very biased in India. There is a sense of medium to low respect. This is the reason some drivers always have a stubborn nature towards customers. Dignity of labor in US wins over this aspect. 5/10 vs 8/10
Work environment - Pathetic in India. Imagine driving on Indian roads for 10 hours a day! This is like having a bossy and micromanaging manager trying to put you down every hour at office. You can't sustain it for long. In US, roads are good, policies/rules are straightforward. 1/10 vs 8/10
Stress factor - 1/10 vs 6/10. Only worry in US is traffic jams in downtowns that need patience.
Overall - 12/40 vs 28/40

Software Engineer
Money - Indian SE is very much satisfied and has a good living in society. In US, the spectrum range is huge for this role. 8/10 vs 7/10
People - In general, SEs have nice people around them. It takes a while to settle down if people around them are new. Other than the initial phase, SEs jell well. 7/10 vs 8/10
Work environment - 7/10 vs 8/10
Stress factor - Early on in career, SEs have very little power to make decisions. Management is fully responsible in planning work and ensuring that SEs are not put under any pressure. There is a 50-50 chance that SEs in India are stressed - 5/10 vs 8/10
Overall - 27/40 vs 31/40

Managers (in big organizations)
Money - Managers enjoy all the benefits in big organizations. With sufficient experience in their belt, they tend to be master takers (similar to master payers). 7/10 vs 8/10
People - Managers are sandwiched between engineers and higher management. Because of this, they need to satisfy both sets of people to get the work done. 6/10 vs 6/10
Work environment - 7/10 vs 8/10
Stress factor - 6/20 vs 6/10
Overall - 26/40 vs 28/40

Doctors??
Overall - 29/40 vs 35/40

Based on above numbers, we can say that, money is not the only factor for job satisfaction. Basic things like people, policies and stress level play major role for a person to be satisfied at work. I started doing these calculations after I saw a taxi driver one morning really stressed out with very little patience! Next time you see a driver on road in India, right of way is his. Let him go.

Fraud Webpage related to Income Tax in India

2012-01-27T00:30:00.006-05:00

Do not submit bank details online. Today, I got a bogus email (which looked genuine).

I got an email to my gmail inbox that I am getting a refund (from Income Tax).

Email screenshot

I clicked on "To Submit a request, CLICK HERE". It took me to a typical Income Tax Website. I noted the URL (website address). It is a bogus address and is a hacking method!

Income Tax Website with WRONG URL

Next, I selected a bank and it opened up a page similar to my bank page. Again, the URL is a bogus one. The page looks similar to 'your' bank page.

Bank Website screenshot with WRONG URL

Do not take any action to such emails. Income Tax Department doesn't ask for any account details via email.

Lalbagh_2012

2012-01-21T11:41:00.000-05:00

Visited Lalbagh this morning to see the flower show as part of Republic Day celebrations. This was also Lalbagh's 100 year of flower show!

The flower show was similar to previous years. I felt that flower show will be lot attractive for Independence Day (Aug 15) because it will be lot greener due to rainy season.

Few points for visitors who plan to visit show:

1. Parking is sufficient. No need to worry on this aspect which is one of the major concerns in Bangalore.
2. Food stalls for snacks and icecream are plenty. Only thing is, you should have the habit of eating out. Else, you might feel low on the hygiene front.
3. Crowd was huge as it was a weekend. Don't plan for a picnic during the show period (Jan 20-29th).
4. Crowd management is not the best. Need to adjust a bit.
5. If you are there for the first time with your camera, you will have lots to click!

iPhone grahachara not good

2012-01-16T09:07:00.002-05:00

My iPhone grahachaara (fate of iphone) is not seeming good in the past few weeks. First, it was not functioning as per requirement and I had to resolve it by checking online forums. That same day, I had lost that phone for couple of hours before I found it in office cafeteria.

Today, my iPhone was not responding at all. Few minutes ago, I had used the phone and an hour later, it was hot like a pan and was dead! I tried charging it with wall charger. Still dead. Hooked it to computer to restore its life. No response yet. Then, my only rescue was googling for solution. It recommended to hold "Sleep button and Home button" for 10 seconds. I did that and my heart started beating faster seeing the Apple come up on screen. Ufff! Phone is working now.

Having costly phones is a big risk in India! I have heard lot of stories of people forgetting phones in restaurants/meeting rooms/etc. I think, we have to come up with solutions to these problems at the earliest. Simplest one is, buy simple and cheap phone.

Morning visitor

2012-01-14T09:04:00.000-05:00

Had this wild spider at the door one fine morning!

iPhone, the Indian way

2012-01-03T02:40:00.001-05:00

My iPhone started off this morning with a bug. When I put that in silent mode, it's vibration feature was not working. My initial check of settings didn't help me much as everything looked correct.

I googled online for solutions. I got to know that the motor inside is jammed. To resolve the problem, just struck the phone to my palm a few times. It worked!!!

This is similar to many of the 'Indianesses'- starting the scooter being a great example.

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Bangalore Traffic

2011-12-18T08:18:00.005-05:00

Bangalore traffic (Photo courtesy:Web)

I got a chance to drive around the city in the past few weeks for one reason or the other. It is shocking to see the change of traffic sense in people compared to a decade ago. I am already feeling like I am 2-3 generations older compared to the younger lot. It is the first time after a decade or so I am getting a feel of Bangalore city traffic.

Outer Ring Road: Ufffff. Metro construction is going on. It is pathetic to drive on that road from Silk Board to Old Airport area. There is a service lane road that is in very poor condition. When I was standing in a signal, I was thinking, "why are these people driving on such a bad road on service road?". I got the answer minutes later when I got stuck in jam for an hour. I recommend, please avoid this road for the next couple of years.

Hosur Road (flyover): Flyover from Silkboard junction to Electronic city is in good condition. But, the people driving/riding on that road are having poor traffic sense when compared to international standards (Road looks international though!). When I did the exit to join the NICE road, I got missed out on the mess down under. The road below the flyover is a puzzle by itself. Once we enter, we cannot take any deviation into service roads as there is a barricade.

CBD (Central Business District): Roads inside the city will look like ant paths from an aeroplane flying above the city. When we halt in a signal, two wheelers surround the car like ants/bees. When I signal turns green, all the riders wobble and toggle to speed away in haste.

City Market Flyover: This flyover was beautiful in 2001. It was fun to ride on that road that had got opened just then. Now, little more than chaos exists. Where-ever flyover structure joins, the road has a big bump which slows down traffic every 100 meters.

Seeing all these, I don't know how traffic management will be done in the coming decades. People must start planning solutions this now, else, they will face a dead-end with nowhere to go in the near future.

Xie Xie

2011-11-22T03:57:00.002-05:00

I keep interacting with teams from China. To talk their language, I sometimes say, "Xie Xie", meaning, Thank You.
Today, I got a response to that - bu ke qi.
The person on the other end expected me to know the meaning of that :). On checking online, I got to know that bu ke qi means "You're Welcome".

Money flow on streets of Bangalore

2011-09-29T10:10:00.003-05:00

We shouldn't think that India is poor. It has full of money flow everywhere. Let me take an example of street vendors. Do you know how much is it worth annually? $43.8 million. How?

In our street (area), we get atleast 10 vendors. On an average, each vendor will have transactions of Rs. 200. It is just an average. Think about Rs. 45 for 1 Kg of green beans, or, Rs. 130 for 1 Kg of apple. Continuing with calculation - just like our street (area), there are atleast 100 areas where such vendors are present. Calculating this per day, and per month and then, annually, I got $43.8 million!

Vendors per area = 10
Transaction per day = Rs. 200
# of such areas = 100 (assumption)

Money flow per day = 10 x 200 x 100 = Rs. 2,00,000 (2 lakhs)
Flow per month = 2 lakhs x 30 = Rs. 60 lakhs.

Per year = 60 lakhs x 365 days = $43.8 million.

Taking 10 cities like this in India, cash roaming around in Indian streets is $438 million!

I think, I will introduce such a market in US. Forget online shopping. Welcome to street shopping.

Full Thrill goes 'ttthai ttthai fissssh'

2011-09-28T04:25:00.003-05:00

One fine sunny afternoon, phone rang and mom picked up. Let me name the caller AP.

AP: Hello Madam, Is this Shakunthala Devi's residence?
Mom: Yes
AP: May I talk to her please.
Mom: Yes, I am Dr. Shakunthala Devi.

AP: Oh, Madam. I am so thrilled. My name is AP and I am calling from Vivekananda School in Arunachal Pradesh. We are students of class 10. We got your number from the internet. We want your biodata. Where did you do your primary school?
Mom: Kolar.
AP: Is that a place in Karnataka?
Mom: Yes.
AP: Where do you live right now? In Bangalore?
Mom: Yes.
What is the name of your parents?
Mom: S...... and S............
(Spelling those names were tough. Those kids on the phone confirmed it twice!)
Mom: Why do you need my biodata?
AP: We are doing an exhibition in our school. In one room, we are keeping all the mathematical signs and information on them. We thought of naming that room after you.
(Kids are super thrilled to mention this to mom)
Mom: I am not a Mathematician you want. I am an Obstetrician.

Tttthai Tttthai Fisssssh

AP: Oh. Is it? :( We found this number on the internet. Sorry ma'am.
Mom: Don't be sorry. I get so many calls like this one. :)

Daily visitors

2011-09-22T10:36:00.000-05:00

This family visits us daily. Captured them on camera.

Identify

2011-09-22T01:47:00.000-05:00

Tell me who is this?

Taco Bell, India

2011-08-27T02:06:00.001-05:00

Visited Taco Bell in Bangalore.
Tacos were good. But, they don't have Chalupa :(

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Pluck, cut, cook, eat

2011-08-19T02:19:00.001-05:00

Got up in the morning. Went on a garden walk. Saw that I had something to pluck!

Fresh Vokra from our vegetable garden

Once I had the raw material, I thought of finishing the product. It was delicious!

Bendekai Palya

Their last journey

2011-08-16T13:11:00.001-05:00

Saw this on the road ...

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Family Photography

2011-08-14T06:50:00.002-05:00

My wife has started a project of archiving selected photos from the zillion photos taken by me in the past three years. Her main idea is to create a traditional paper album rather than the digital version.

I am searching online for tips on family photography. We know that most photographers focus on the commercial aspect of photography, very few talk about the theme of family. In today's world, there are families that put in interest on photography by investing on a decent, mid-level professional DSLR. Being one among them, I want to follow categories that help me click better. Also, there is no better person to shoot the best photos of a family than the one within it. Below are the categories:
1. Toddlers/Kids
2. Travel
3. Events
4. Actions/Milestones
5. Day-to-day

I want to elaborate on the above sometime later by providing samples and tips based on my experience.

Innovative Film City, Bangalore

2011-08-13T08:31:00.002-05:00

Visited Innovative Film City, Bangalore. It is a nice place to spend a day as an outing.
Entry ticket was fixed at Rs. 499 which didn't include a few attractions inside. We had to buy ticket for Go-carting separately.

What did we do?
1. Pottery demo - Wife dirtied her hands in making a small pot with the help of an expert.
2. Go-carting - Son and I did 4 rounds of go-carting.
3. Miniature City - Got a police car from the toy store to make him play in this miniature city.
4. Roller Skates - Wanted son to experience it. He didn't attempt and I had to do it alone for my pleasure.
5. 4D show - Show was about UFO. 10 minute show was just OK. It would have been better if the show had some cartoon theme. Seat-shaking, jet air blowing around, water spraying along with 3D movie is something that is worth mentioning.
5. Had typical Thali-Lunch at the food court. Food options are sufficient to cater to all customers visiting this place.
6. Flying carpet movie - We sat on a carpet and got a movie made out of it. Interesting one to watch once our son grows up.
7. Haunted Mansion - Is a nice one, not a scary one though.

Garden Potato

2011-07-22T11:35:00.001-05:00

Potatoes from our veggie garden...

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Flat tyre repair made easy

2011-07-10T08:45:00.001-05:00

A nail had got in to my car's front tyre. When I shook the nail, air started to leak. Without much experiment, I took the car to the mechanic. Because the new i10 cars come with tubeless tyre, it took only 2 minutes to remove the nail and close the hole with the fluid!

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Cinema and kids

2011-07-09T22:39:00.003-05:00

Got one new milestone for our son - took him to the theatre for the first time. Cars 2 (3D) movie was a good option as he loves cars.

Meenakshi Mall's Cinepolis was a suitable place for us. After purchasing the ticket, we had paav-bhaaji at the food court. Inside the movie hall, our son was alert for the first 10 minutes. After that, slept off! He woke up at intermission. He watched the full of second half.

We have heard that kids become cranky when they are taken to movies. For us, it was a nice experience as our son didn't trouble us at all.

Potato farm

2011-07-07T23:04:00.001-05:00

Waiting to harvest potato

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Must tell scam

2011-06-22T13:23:00.006-05:00

How will it be to keep 50 million rupees in a bank for a month? With good interest rates, surely a million will be flowing in our pocket just by sitting under a tree.

This is what a cell phone company is doing, duping it's customers by over charging and then readjusting in the next bill. Below is the story:

I got a call from my cell phone service provider that I have an unbilled usage of Rs. 11,000 and it was a heads-up to make interim payment to avoid disruption. With a long conversation, I explained that this information is bogus and got an assurance that there will be no disruption of service. They were not providing the usage details as the bill gets generated on the 28th of every month. Even with a bill in hand, there are so many people who don't check the bill details before making a payment. Even with a couple of rupees of mismatch, a company can suck millions of rupees due to huge customer base.

After 4 hours, my 3G service got disconnected. When I called customer support, they were reading out the same information of a huge amount. Only way to get back my service was to make an interim payment of Rs. 1,500. As I track my usage daily, I know that my next bill will have an amount around Rs. 800. With Rs. 700 extra payment which will get settled in my next bill, I would have loaned my money to that company that has 100 million subscribers in India. If they dupe at least a million with excess amount, they can pocket considerable amount to get interest generated in the bank. I explained all these calculations and the consequences they will have to face if they didn't restart my 3G immediately. I told that I will make my expected payment amount of Rs. 800 right away (and not Rs. 1,500 as they had mentioned). Within an hour of persistence and followup I came out of the bakra mode.

Superstar

2011-06-10T02:10:00.003-05:00

There are so many reality shows on TV that people are bored of watching the same type of competitions. Now-a-days, TV has become like democracy (of the people, by the people, for the people). One need not be an actor or a model to be on TV, it is the other way round - you will be made one once you participate in a reality show.

I was watching a show on a Kannada channel where 10 singers compete to become a superstar. It is so easy to create such a program that we don't need stars, just 10 young fighting and talking people are enough. The show shows participants jogging, eating, talking, etc, etc. These 10 yet-to-be-stars stay together for 40 days, end of which a star will rise!

Who told the program owners that a star can be made in 40 days? That too with unwanted things like jogging in the morning! More than anything, music star is a star by his/her dedication for years in practicing. In the name of music, they are trying to attract viewership.

Bannerghatta Zoo

2011-05-29T02:46:00.001-05:00

Visited Bannerghatta Zoo this Saturday. Our son liked the place and had a nice time. Horse ride near the parking lot was his best experience.
Zoo timings: 9:30 to 5:00
Entry fee: Rs. 45
Safari package: Rs. 160
Start early to beat the crowd.
In the entrance, you will find zoo map. This will help you in knowing the locations of animals.

A few inhabitants in the zoo have been adopted by Anil Kumble.

Animals to checkout: a few birds, hippo, snakes, crocodile, zebra, leopard, deer, jackal, monkeys, bear.

Animals not to expect: lion, tiger, elephant, giraffe, camel.

After zoo visit, we had sufficient time to visit Tulip Resorts. This is a OK place, no tulips around though.

Menthya MoLake`

2011-05-14T23:45:00.000-05:00

Menthya MoLake` at Home Veggie Garden

Log problem Answer

2011-04-28T20:04:00.002-05:00

Z gave her share of money. So, totally, 24 kopecks were needed to cook. 24/8=3 kopecks per log.
Y's 5 logs costs 15 kopecks. His share of 8 will be deducted and will be given 7 kopecks.
X put 3 logs, total investment is 9 kopecks. X will get 1 kopeck back.

Log Problem

2011-04-28T02:48:00.001-05:00

I was reading a book, "Mathematics can be fun" and found this puzzle:

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Paid property tax online

2011-04-21T07:16:00.001-05:00

Paid BBMP Property tax online. It is very easy and straight forward.
Got the receipt immediately!
Thanks to BBMP for providing this facility.

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Location:8th Main Rd,Bengaluru,India

DecaTech

2011-04-16T08:07:00.002-05:00

It has been a decade since I came out of college and have seen a sea of changes in the field of technology (especially in India).

1. Digital Camera - This was unheard for me 10 years ago. Now, the whole world takes pictures on digital camera. No film processing and no negatives.

2. Broadband Internet - India has moved from a dialup connection to ADSL since 2001. This has made email and other internet services easy to access on the world wide web.

3. Social Networking on the net - Orkut, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc have made the world come closer. Nobody had ever imagined that friends can be closer via the net.

4. Cellphone/Smartphone - My experience of not owning a phone a decade ago, to a smartphone now, I have seen good growth of mobile technology in India. As per sources, there are 750 million cell phones in India! Nokia was the leading seller long ago. Now, all other players have entered the market with fancier models. Call rates have come down from Rs. 6 per minute to 20 paise per minute.

5. Automobile Industry - This has grown in leaps and bounds in India. There has been a huge buying power that has seen all brands set up manufacturing units in India. On the positive side, this change has given a boost to the industry, but, on the contrary, it has choked the roads.

Ind-Pak match

2011-03-31T02:27:00.002-05:00

The whole India-Pakistan population was glued to this India vs Pakistan semifinal. Though the match didn't have great drama, it created hype for 3-4 days. News channels were covering it live like an election or a calamity.

Facebook and twitter too had its share of traffic. Lots of people took a day off because of 'cold' or 'bad stomach', etc. Many in India halted their work by afternoon to sit in front of television to catch the action from the toss.

For me, the match started at 5pm. Indian batting was over by 8:30pm. By then, I thought of not watching the second part of the match. When Pakistan was going smoothly at 100-2, my hopes were going down. In the next hour, I got a message on my phone that the score was 150-6! Though I was sleeping, my mind was partially on the match and was telling myself that India will win if they pick couple of more wickets. In the end, message on phone read, "Pakistan 231-10".

Next is the grand final - India vs Sri Lanka in Mumbai on coming Saturday. May India win.

Sun rises in the East

2011-02-06T07:08:00.001-05:00

From room window...

Morning...

Afternoon...

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Location:New York

Coffee in Cambodia

2011-02-03T23:13:00.001-05:00

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Location:Cambodia, airport

Angkor Wat

2011-02-01T16:27:00.003-05:00

Visited Angkor Wat last week. It was an awesome trip. Click on above photo to check out the photo album. We flew from Singapore to Siem Reap (nearest International airport). Our guide was waiting at the airport and took us to our hotel. The next 3 days went like a zoom.
All our arrangements were done by our travel agent, Chan Brothers, Singapore.

Siem Reap is tourist friendly. Guides and shoppers speak basic English. Hotel accommodation is available in plenty with good facilities like gym, swimming pool and wi-fi internet access. Roads are OK. Food for vegetarians has to be managed with rice, soup and cooked vegetables.

Chinese new year preparations

2011-01-11T21:07:00.001-05:00

Sweets...

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Singapore flag

2011-01-11T02:17:00.001-05:00

Significance of Singapore flag

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Singapore Zoo visit

2011-01-08T06:07:00.002-05:00

We visited Singapore zoo today. It was raining heavily when we reached at 11:30am. In the next hour, rain stopped and the weather was suitable for taking the zoo tour. We spent the next 5 hours roaming around and making sure that our little one was not bored.

Our son liked the KidzWorld section. There was pony-ride which we initially thought would be tough for him. I told my wife that once we hand over him to the care-taker, he will sit on the horse and continue his ride.

My main idea was to show him elephants (Elephant show)! Our dad will surely tell, "oooh, just take him to temple; you will find lot of elephants". It was 3:30pm and time was ticking for our son. Within few minutes of the show, he got bored listening to the story. Having shown him how elephant looks in real life, we started back home.

Happy New Year 2011

2010-12-31T19:31:00.000-05:00

Marina Bay, Singapore
New Year Celebrations.

Near Esplanade, Singapore

Chinatown visit, Singapore

2010-12-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

Roof top at Chinatown Point, Singapore.

Visited Chinatown, Singapore today.

My story re-told

2010-12-09T23:14:00.001-05:00

This is a video of Chrome Event held on 07-Dec 2010. I checked my earlier blog writter in 2008. To my surprise, most of the words/phrases/ideas in the video is the same as my blog. My earlier blog is here - http://hkshyam.blogspot.com/2008/07/future-of-computerweb.html

Good Samaritan

2010-11-30T22:55:00.002-05:00

Last night, it rained heavily in Singapore. I was stuck in office for an hour waiting to return home. After a long wait for a taxi, I got one to reach home by 8pm. By 9pm, I got a call.
Caller: Hi, is it Mr. Kumar? Did you leave something in my taxi?
Me: No, I don't think so. I didn't have any bag or anything in my hands.
Caller: Are you sure? I think you have left your RSA token.
Me: Oh!? Is it? Let me check... Oh yes..., it is mine. How do I get it back?
Caller: I will give it to you when I am in your area next time.

By 11:30pm, I got my RSA back.

I must thank the cab driver who called me and finally returned my RSA token. I even called the cab company and gave my thank-you feedback.

400 m hurdles men's final..asian games 2010

2010-11-26T00:54:00.000-05:00

asian games 2010 womens 400 hurdles

2010-11-26T00:41:00.000-05:00

iPad slate

2010-11-19T23:00:00.000-05:00

Using the iPad as slate for our son: He did the above 'modern art'. I wrote the kannada alphabets for him which he enjoys reading.

Apps for iPad

2010-11-15T03:47:00.004-05:00

The new toy (iPad) has caught everybody's attention at home. Our son loves apps by Duck Duck Moose. Interactive games and learning make kids stick to iPad. Apart from that, there are many nice apps for ipad that make it worth using.

For me, I am happy using most of the social networking tools. Also, some of the apps are linked to wiki. These apps get updated on a daily basis that will make me read some new topic everyday.

Online chat with voice also is easy. With iPad being more portable compared to a laptop, it is easy to move around the house with iPad in hand.

For my wife, iPad is a boon! iPad makes our son eat his meal faster than ever before without running away from his seat. My wife used to have a hard time making him eat before we got our new family toy, the iPad.

Apple iPad

2010-11-09T06:35:00.005-05:00

Got an iPad today for my wife. The screen and video clarity is awesome! There are many apps for kids which we will be using to entertain our son.

Gold Class Experience in PVR

2010-10-21T12:45:00.004-05:00

My wife and I planned to watch Einthiran at PVR today.

Apart from the movie being superclass, the Goldclass experience was an experience of its own.
For less than USD 15 for a couple, we were provided royal treatment with welcome drinks at the waiting lounge before the movie started. The screen is designed for a small audience of 30 who sit/sleep in leaning couches which have adjustable buttons to shift from sitting to sleeping position. We are also provided with a pillow and blanket! Lastly, food can be ordered by pressing the 'attendant button' attached to our seat (just like in flight).

The movie is one of its kind in Indian cinema. I have never seen an Indian movie with so much graphics and sci-fi action. Rajani rocks the show! Bottonline - Eithiran is worth watching.

Colorful Ties

2010-10-11T10:58:00.003-05:00

Street Vendor's Colorful Ties

Topi beka Topi...

2010-10-09T20:48:00.001-05:00

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Looking into the sky

2010-10-06T16:28:00.001-05:00

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Morning Pictures, NY

2010-10-06T10:28:00.002-05:00

Building Rails, Broadway, NY

Near Trinity Church, Broadway, NY

Trinity Church as seen from Wall Street, NY

Street Stalls, Broadway, NY

Today's entry in NYSE

2010-10-05T10:04:00.002-05:00

GFIG

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company listed

2010-10-01T10:40:00.003-05:00

Mingyang Wind Power (China) listed in NYSE

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NYSE adds one to listing

2010-09-23T08:38:00.003-05:00

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Everyday, I walk in front NYSE and see this section of the building to check if any new company is listed. Today, I found this company getting listed in NYSE. I checked the company online to know that it is a data center company. Check about the company here - www.coresite.com

Liberty State Park, New Jersey

2010-09-18T15:20:00.004-05:00

A sunny Saturday was a good day to visit Liberty State Park. Only part that was boring was the walk in the hot sun. I mis-calculated the distance to walk for this visit and got stuck in the middle with fuel meter running low. With lack of restaurants and snack joints, it was a little stretching of energy meter.

View of Manhattan

The view of Manhattan from Exchange Place, Jersey City is very nice. I had placed to walk from here to Liberty Park. One local suggested me to take the light rail which dropped me just outside the park. From the entrance to the main point of the park, it is a long walk which very few take. I was one of them to be walking lonely and was an easy prey for muggers! Most visitors drove past me to the parking lot which is next to the Historic Rail Station.

Old Railway Station

Apart from the long walk, the visit to the park was nice. It will be better once Fall foliage appears.

New York

2010-09-14T17:45:00.001-05:00

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Jersey City

2010-09-12T18:27:00.002-05:00

Landed here last week on official visit. With office on Wall Street, New York, I get to see companies getting listed in NYSE.

Jersey City has few roads which are totally occupied by 'desis'. Newark Avenue is one place where one could find Indian shops, restaurants, etc. There is also a pan shop. Every morning, one will see 100s of 'desis' with a laptop bag walking briskly towards the train station nearby. Getting a place to stay for individuals like these is very easy and is a phone call away. These are managed by Indian agents and home owners.

Chinatown, Singapore

2010-08-22T07:38:00.004-05:00

With a recommendation from one of my friends, I visited Chinatown today. I was roaming around looking at colorful surroundings and doing window shopping. It is a must place to visit to see vibrant colors and to feel the buzz around any day of the week.

I first got inside the Chinatown market - this place had lots of shops selling electronics and gift articles. Also, half of this place was occupied with travel agencies. As I wanted to see the street shops, I headed out of this market.

"Paint your name for $10" was the board which reminded me of San Francisco. This corridor of shops was very nice with lots of small gift articles and clothes. End of the corridor was a huge Hindu Temple - Mariamman Temple! Next to this was a very huge Chinese Temple.

After walking for a couple of hours, I wanted to hydrate myself and found the right choice - fresh coconut milk. After taking a break to finish this drink, I headed back home. Chinatown - A must visit window shopping place. Photos of Chinatown - here.

My first experience of IMAX

2010-08-14T06:03:00.002-05:00

I visited the Singapore Science Center today. The place is very interesting for kids in the age group of 5-15. For others, it is a matter of recap of the science lessons.

Inside the science center is the Atrium, which has the Telsa coil demo twice daily. The coil generates 3.5 million volts. The demonstration was done in a very friendly manner by the host. The audience (about 150) stood forming a circle around the Tesla coil stage. When the coil was powered, electric sparks bursted out of the coil in to the air. Balloon filled with Hydrogen was kept at a distance from the coil. When the coil was ignited, the spark put the balloon into flames and exploded. Moral of the story - Helium and Hydrogen are the only other gases lighter than air. If you want to fill the birthday balloon, fill it with Helium, and not Hydrogen. Last part of the demo involved 5 volunteers from the audience. Each one was given a small fluorescent tube and were told to hold it in the air. When the coil was switched on, these 5 tubes far away from the sparks were lit by 'wireless propagation of electricity'. This is what Telsa wanted to actually do - transmit electricity across 2 continents without any wires.

With few more minutes in other sections of the science center, I moved to the IMAX theater for the Beavers show. The screen of the theater is a huge semi-circular dome type. This makes the movie shown as a 3D. It was awesome to watch the Beavers build their home and raise their young ones. They build dams out of wood to create an ecosystem that will grow in to an underwater green system.

Special effects of IMAX were amazing. For me, I had more effects around me. There were two little kids, one next to me and one in the front row. Both were around 3 years and were speaking Hindi. When the effects on screen appeared realistic, these kids used to show that they got afraid of it. They competed in identifying the things that came on screen - be it a dog (for fox), duck, snow clad mountains, baby beavers, etc. I am sure they will remember this show for a long time!

Telecom boom

2010-08-06T20:45:00.002-05:00

I was reading today's paper and got to know that Indian telecom industry has reached 50% tele-density. After reading this, I checked for the history of Indian Telecom which dates back to 1880s.

With around 5 million users in 1991, growth was expected in the next decade or two. Now, there are around 622 million telephone users (both landline and cell included), that is nearly 125 times compared to 1991! This industry is worth more than $30 billion, making it one of the top industries in India in terms of growth and revenue.

No surprise, we see Airtel and other private companies sponsoring cricket tourneys like IPL and Champions League!

Android - my first look

2010-08-05T05:09:00.003-05:00

Got my first smart phone recently.

I have been using a few apps which are really helpful.

The best available available is the SG Bus Timing app which tells me bus arrivals at a given bus stand in real-time. To test my app, I searched for my bus the moment I stood at the stop. The app said, "2 mins". When the bus was few yards away from the stop, I shook my phone (which is a method to actually refresh the page). The app said, "arriving"! Am really fascinated by the accuracy.

Screenshot of SG Bus Timing app on Android

Paperwork prevails

2010-08-03T04:48:00.002-05:00

How long does it take to fill a form/application for a phone connection? Around 20 minutes. Add the same process to Broadband connection, tv connection and cell phone connection. With few minutes of buffer and waste-time, it should take around 2 hours to get this done.

This is exactly what happened when I went to get the above connections from one vendor here in Singapore. Though the activation of TV and cell phone connection was done instantly, internet took like an 'overnight' time. Land phone will be activated in 5 working days.

Best part of the above connections - no need of any service guy to come in and do the installation. No need to give an appointment to the technician for visiting us to set up the connection. Everything is 'do-it-yourself'.

Bad part of getting a connection - it took nearly 25 sheets of paper to submit the application. For each type of connection, customer details have to be put in the form. They could have made this a computer based tool and have a choose 'tv, broadband, landline, ...' along with package plans. "Go green" is surely missing in the above system.

This shows that paper submission still prevails over softcopy forms.

Tenali Rama going to...

2010-07-28T08:46:00.003-05:00

There is a Kannada movie, "Tenali Rama Going to Dubai". I accidentally started watching this movie of Ramesh and Jaggesh. Though the comedy part is somewhat OK, height of imagination in the movie was at its peak when I saw the song in the second half. There are 2 songs which are shot in Singapore!

Where did Dubai come in to picture then???? Director should be able to answer. As per the story of the movie, the two characters, Tenali and Rama were duped of being sent to Dubai and they land up in the coast of Goa ;). Singapore is in Goa????

Home hunt for Renting in SG

2010-07-13T00:10:00.002-05:00

Hunting for a home for rent in Singapore is a big task. Because all homes are taken care by agents/brokers, it is hard to bypass them to get a nice house.

After checking out nearly 20 units, I finally got one 15 minutes away from office. Why 20 units??? I didn't choose a few because they were far or not suitable. If I liked the place, the owner found a better deal with some other tenant. Some units are taken away like hot cakes. Within minutes, somebody will bid and closed.

My daily routine in the past 2 weeks had been like this:
1) While in office, I would get phone calls from agents about a unit available.
2) Some agents would confirm for a viewing the same evening (by 8pm).
3) I would leave office and head towards the available unit.
4) Return home by 10pm.

Now that my hunt is over, I can understand the time consumed in hunting. Not just time; money too! The agent asks for 1/2 of one month's rent. If we are lucky to pick the first house, it is bonus money for the agent since he/she doesn't have to hunt for other units.

Comparing this with US, home for renting is so easy there - just look for 'For rent' in front of any apartment and you are sure to get a look at the unit immediately. Across the globe, when it comes to India, hunting a home for rent is tough which is driven by real-estate agents.

Singapore 2010

2010-07-10T23:28:00.002-05:00

Youth Olympics, Singapore 2010.
Notice the Hindi words in these stamps!

The first Youth Olympics is being held in Singapore from August 14th. Above stamps were released in August 2009 when the official announcement was made about the Games in Singapore. The four Hindi words are visible here - श्रेष्टता, नमस्कार, मित्रता, सम्मान।
A non-Indian country having a stamp with an Indian language on it seemed interesting to me.

Super Saturday

2010-06-27T03:08:00.003-05:00

It has been Super Saturdays for me for 3 weekends. Yesterday was the turn to visit the Chinese Gardens near Jurong East. The whole park is so vast that it takes 7-10 kilometer walk to cover it. Attached with this garden is the Japanese Garden.

On Friday night, I had made up my mind to visit this place. The only thing I had kept undecided was the time. As Saturday progressed, I thought that 4-7pm will be a good time to visit. I was in the park by 4pm after getting down at Chinese Gardens MRT.

With a few meters walk, I reached the entrance of the side gate. With sun still up, my mouth started to water once I saw the ice cream cart. "One dollar..", said the vendor. I told him to give me a cone and got to know that he has neither cone, nor the stick. Rather, he prepares it from scratch. I just wanted 'some' icre-cream. So, I said, "ok, give however you want to". He had a family pack kind of a thing inside his cart. He cut a slice of it along with the cardboard wrap, took it out, added two flat wafers on two sides, removed the cardboard wrap from 4 sides, kept this 'sandwitch ice-cream' in a open plastic paper (similar to one had tissue) and gave it to me. I finished this final product in 2 minutes!

Just as I walking in at the entrance, I was searching for Park map. I didn't find any stand with maps in it. As I found one big board containing the map, I took a full photo of that - this was my handy map for the rest of my walk. My ears at that moment were hearing some songs of Mohd. Rafi. Since there was no Visitor Center, this gave me an idea of asking the person listening to this about the main attractions of this park. I was disappointed to see a sleeping security guard listening (actually not!) to music from a local radio channel. May be, he was taking the afternoon nap ;).

The park is very calm and serene. One nice thing about this park is that it is not in the hit-list of tourists. For a 20-square kilometer area or so within the city area, I found 20-30 people. Even if I shouted, nobody would have come to me! It was so lonely. This park is not the place with full of flowers, but, a place to walk in shade and relax.

My visit to Chinese Gardens (and Japanese Gardens) ended at 7:30pm. Next, I headed to Central District for some more walking. Once I landed in that area, I found out that the main roads in that area are closed for traffic. This happens every year during this time of the year because of rehearsals for National Day (Aug 9). There was sufficient crowd in that area who had come specifically to watch the rehearsal. A few fire crackers were also seen as part of practise session.

After a long day, finishing dinner somewhere there and then heading home was ideal. I came across Pastamania. With limited options for veggies, I had to settle with some unknown variety which was better than I had thought.

There is one thing I am still searching for in this city of Singapore - the musical fountain that BSY and is Govt. planned to put in Lal Baag. I can make a movie out of this ;) that goes like this - A simple guy in Bangalore comes to know that Govt. is changing the face of Lal Baag and matching it with Singapore. The guy really wanted to check out what this Singapore is all about. He lands there and doesn't find any musical fountain anywhere!

Saina - 3 titles in 3 weeks

2010-06-27T02:55:00.002-05:00

Saina Nehwal won the Indonesian Open few minutes ago to add her tally to 3 titles in 3 weeks. 2 weekends ago, she won the Indian Open in Chennai. Last weekend, she won the Singapore Open.

What a performance by her these days! She is now ranked 3 in the world and is expected to go higher. After watching her play, I felt that she really is a true fighter and never gives up easily. This is the first time an Indian woman's Badminton player has reached such heights. Only other Indian to have reached such recognition is Prakash Padukone. Couple more have come to Badminton circuit with some odd titles in the past decade - Gopichand and Aparna Popat, but none achieved any of the top 3 spots as far as world ranking goes.

Well Done Saina!!!

Adv - Room for rent

2010-06-21T09:12:00.003-05:00

Saw this Ad here and found it funny the way it is phrased (or the way it can be interpreted)

CHOA CHU KANG BLK-472,NICE OWNER, MASTER ROOM PLS CALL - ********

MASTER ROOM IN CHOA CHU KANG AVE 3,BLK-4**
JUST 2 PERSONS ONLY IN THE HOUSE,VERY CALM.
HI FLOOR,RENT NEG.
INDIAN OWNER FULLY FURNISH
LOOKING SINGLE OR 2,ANYRACE GIRLS,LIGHT COOKING ALLOWED
IMMED CALL

#73 Shanthi Nivasa

2010-06-20T08:17:00.004-05:00

Watched a Kannada movie (#73 Shanthi Nivasa) which was on-air today here in a local channel. The movie is a remake of Hindi version. Sudeep aka Kiccha has directed this movie and also has played the lead role.

It is must watch family movie. Komal has done well to add some laughter. The song 'Preeti Yendare Heegene' (listen here) is a good one which is based on raaga, Kalavati.

The 'awe' of Singapore

2010-06-19T23:25:00.005-05:00

There are a few things tourist visiting Singapore (pronounced as Sin-ga-pore and not Sin-gaa-pore as many Indians do) must not miss. I will prioritize the list after my 3 weeks now. Though I haven't seen a few places (still in my 'must-visit' list), there have been a bunch of places that really attracted me.

A must see in Singapore:
1) Singapore Flyer - A beautiful view of the City and the ocean. Best time to visit - 6:30pm - 7:30pm. For that, one needs to be in the ticket counter by 5:30pm. During this period of the day, you will get too look at the city with a bit of sun light and also with lights lit just after sunset.

2) Singapore Botanical Garden and National Orchid Garden - If you love to relax, the Botanical Garden is the best place to be in. With so much natural beauty and calmness, you will enjoy peace with a nice breeze. For photography fans, Orchid Garden is the place to spend to fill 1-2GB of your camera memory.
Best day to visit - Weekdays OR, Saturday morning. You will need a whole day to enjoy the Garden. Pack your lunch and spend time in the 'Picnic Ground'.

3) Jurong Bird Park - For kids, the show at Pools Amphitheater will be the most amazing thing. to witness. Apart from this show, the park has lots of other attractions which is worth watching.
Best day to visit - Weekdays OR, Saturday morning. Never visit on Sunday.

4) The Merlion, Symbol of Singapore - This is the spot in Singapore for tourists to take a picture with Merlion in the background and tell their friends and family back home, "I visited Singapore".
Best time - Any day, anytime. You will see a floating population here and is not crowded.

With the above list, a visitor will be able to spend a 3-day vacation here :). I think, that should be a good short vacation to enjoy.

Henderson_Waves

2010-06-18T11:21:00.005-05:00

Visited Henderson Waves (a bridge) this evening. Many had come with camera to shoot the night lights of this bridge. I was the only one without a tripod :(. May be, it is a lesson for me to get a tripod for such shots.

View of Henderson Waves

The bridge is designed in a unique way to look like a wave. In real, the path to walk is along a horizontal access of this wave. The first image shows the walkway. The day-light image of this bridge is not that impressive compared to the night-light effect.

Singapore and rarities

2010-06-17T09:31:00.005-05:00

Singapore rain was in the news this morning. Yesterday, it rained heavily from 8 am to 11 am and recorded 60% of average rainfall for the month of June. People were very harsh in commenting on the drainage system on specific roads. They need an inquiry in to drainage system in the affected areas.

Another notable thing about this place is policy to maintain the city clean. It is 'bad' as pr Govt. rules to pick your nose in public. Apart from this, if a person dirties a place, maximum punishment is to recruit the culprit as 'Litterbugs' (read here) and order him/her to maintain cleanliness in a given public area.

Finally, about cars - one cab driver was explaining that after a car turns 10 years, it has to be re-checked and registration has to be renewed. Cost of re-registering an old car is around S$30,000. Adding few more to that, we will get a new car. This is the reason, we rarely see cars/vehicles older that 10 years on Singapore roads.

FAQ to me on Singapore

2010-06-13T04:19:00.003-05:00

There are few Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) people have asked me about my impression about Singapore. It has been 10 days since my landing here and I am getting a pretty good look at the place.

The first couple of days was more of getting to know the transport system and the places/names of places. After getting an accommodation, it has been more of exploring the city and its attractions.

I have covered a few tourist spots. Below is the list I have covered till now:
1) Merlion/Marina Bay
2) Singapore Flyer
3) Singapore Botanical Garden
4) Singapore Philately Museum
5) Singapore Zoo

I am yet to explore Sentosa Island and Singapore Birds Park.

Coming back to FAQs, here are some FAQs and my answers to them:
1) How is Singapore?
The city/country is nice and is bubbling with people everywhere. The place is neat and green too. The weather is hot (around 90F) and humid. People are very busy working for 10-plus hours daily.
2) How is Little India?
I liked this place as it resembles Brigade Road or Jayanagar area in Bangalore. Also, this is a good place to taste Indian food as there are many restaurants to suit our palate.
3) What are similarities with Bangalore?
There are many. a) Population is similar to that in Bangalore. b) Some roads typically resemble roads in Bangalore which have huge canopy of trees. c) Cosmopolitan like Bangalore. d) City is growing taller because there is no space to grow wider. e) Food varieties and restaurants are available in plenty. Don't know why there is no MTR branch here :(.
4) What is the change I first noticed compared to Bangalore?
Transport system is the first thing I noticed. The pending dream of Bangalore citizens, the Metro, is here since 1987 (more about MRT - here). Now, Singapore Metro Rail Transport (called as MRT) is an integral part of everybody's life.
5) How tough is life in Singapore?
It is similar to any other metro around the globe. Any other city which can match this city in many aspects is New York. Good local transport, cosmopolitan in nature, costly real-estate, and busy life schedule makes Singapore resemble New York. Definitely, cost of living is very high which will come in to account while bringing up kids.

Singapore_Botanical_Garden

2010-06-12T07:16:00.001-05:00

Visited Singapore Botanical Garden today. It is a nice place for a day out with lots of things to see. A family picnic is always a good idea. Click on the image for pictures. I liked the Orchid Garden which has 'n' varieties of orchids.

View From Singapore Flyer

2010-06-11T19:46:00.001-05:00

http://www.singaporeflyer.com/

Visited Singapore Flyer, the largest Ferris Wheel in the world. This makes my Ferris Wheel ride count to two. My first ride was on London Eye in 2006. The view of the city is awesome. For couples, a romantic ride is arranged with dining facility. The ride takes around 30 minutes.

Decode this announcement

2010-06-11T10:09:00.005-05:00

Listen to this audio and decode what the person is selling. I get down at Jurong East MRT station and I see one old lady selling something daily. This lady sits on a wheel chair and has a lot of stuff to sell. It is hard to decode what she is selling seeing her. She will be announcing her product every 15 seconds. I recently got to understand what she really sells by telling the above announcement. She is the only one I have seen in the whole of Singapore selling by announcing in a public place (resembling Indian Style).

I will give the answer to this tomorrow. Till then, keep guessing and comment it here.

Costly cars in Singapore

2010-06-10T21:02:00.003-05:00

I was very excited on Day-1 when I was traveling from the Airport to my guest house. My excitement of seeing Suzuki Swift and Hyundai Getz here in Singapore was short lived. A brand new Suzuki Swift costs Rs. 22 lakhs (~ S$ 67,000)!

View from living room

2010-06-10T09:36:00.001-05:00

View from living room

Singapore has different types of rental houses. Most of the apartments are of two types - private and HDB (Housing Development Board). While the former is developed by private developers, the latter is built by the local government and could be owned by anyone. The latter one is like the BDA site allotment system where local people apply and get a plot/home.

House rent in Singapore is very high because of competition and encouragement the government is giving to private companies. On the other side, companies are not paying higher salaries to their employers. They are of the mindset, "if this candidate doesn't accept the offer, we have others in the list".

Visited Mustafa Centre

2010-06-08T06:05:00.002-05:00

Today, I had a chance to figure out the inside of Mustafa Centre. I got all the groceries I wanted. I think, it is a place where you can get 'everything', that too 24 hours! Good time to visit this store is during the week. During weekend, I was told that it is hard to check out from the cash counter.

Getting set in Singapore

2010-06-06T08:58:00.002-05:00

Day 3 and Day 4 had been filled with roaming for two reasons - 1) See Singapore, 2) Find an accommodation. I could complete the first one little bit and there is lot left to see in the coming weeks/months. On Sunday, I saw a few houses for a shared accommodation and settled for the one I liked.

Waiting for the week ahead.

View from Office window

2010-06-04T10:45:00.000-05:00

This is the view of Singapore from our Office window on the 33rd floor.

Day 1 in Singapore

2010-06-03T10:53:00.002-05:00

Landed in Singapore at 6:10am. Immigration was done within 10 minutes. I was at my designated guest house by 6:45am. The moment I showed the address to the taxi driver, he said, "Oh, this is a house, I know". My first experience of Singapore was heavy condensation! Once I opened the taxi to step out into Singapore soil, my glasses needed wipers for nearly a minute. It was 27 degrees at 6:45am.

I got used to the transport system here. Bus, MRT, taxi, walking - all are useful modes of transport. I felt the weather to be very hot and humid.

One funny thing to remember - This is the first time I got into a 50 storeyed building (our office here in Singapore is located on the 33rd floor with a beautiful view to the ocean and downtown). On the ground floor, I pressed the "Go UP" button and waited. There were 8 elevators and one of them arrived. I got in to that and for my surprise, it took me to 41 st floor. There was no button inside to click 33 :(. Then, I figured out that 2 of the 8 elevators are for 40-50 floor ONLY and there is a button saying, "Transit at 31". At 31st floor, I made a elevator switch to reach my office.

In the evening, I visited little India area including Mustafa, dinner at Ananda Bhavan. Day 1 was filled with roaming.

Another tiring day

2010-05-26T07:07:00.005-05:00

Left home at 10 am - closed work at 5:30pm. I am not at work, but, am roaming from one office to another to get my tasks done.
1) 10 am - Started from home to get transaction entries on bank passbook. Canara Bank, Hanumanthanagar is one of the worst bank branches I have ever seen. Nothing seems to work for me till now. I have been there 3 times this week to get the entries done. Each time, they give the same old reason, "computer not working".
2) Headed to another Canara Bank Branch- this time, it was N.R. Colony. For my surprise, I got it done in one shot! "Nice start" - I thought.
3) Next, headed towards BSNL office to change my internet plan as I will be away from home due to work. I had got the letter printed and that made things easy. I got an acknowledgment for my request. Only problem which I see is refund of the money that I have already paid for the next 12 months. This needs to be tracked in future.
4) My next stop was at Bangalore One center, BDA complex, BSK II Stage. I had to submit our son's passport application. The person at the reception told that they have stopped accepting passport applications. I was directed to go to Bangalore Passport Seva Kendra near Urvashi theater. Time was ticking and it was 11:30am.
5) 11:50am - Reached BBMP office near Vidyapeeta to get the receipt of tax paid. 12:50pm (i.e., one hour past my arrival there) - no progress. Nobody responds to my query and are lethargic. One guy asks me to check a few bundles of files to see if my receipt is hidden somewhere in there. For my ill-luck, I didn't find it. Finally, one fellow tells, "Come next week. Person X will be here. You can ask him." 60 minutes of time waste done.
6) It was 1pm - I parked the car at home and took an auto to reach Passport seva Kendra near Urvashi theater. Firstly, who told that it is near Urvashi? Newspapers did! Fact is, it is 10 minutes walk from Urvashi theater. Nobody around the place knows that such an office has come into existence. In the end, I see a Prestige Group commercial building on which I notice "Passport Seva Kendra" (PSK). Time is 1:21pm. Doors are closed for any new customers. Many confused people are waiting outside for information and more confusion around as time pass by. When asked for new passport application form, one security guy tells, "come at 2pm". It was nearly 40 minutes away. Heat was beating down and I was tired of roaming. We (people) started a line to collect the application form. At 1:55pm, some 'hungama' starts 50 meters away with lots of people gathered. When I checked there, some tom-dick-harry was distributing the new passport application forms like hot donuts.

6a) There were 4-5 people in that PSK who had come to apply for their kids. One of them told that she had been to Bangalore One center (BDA Complex, BSK II stage) and they told her to get the new forms after which they will accept the application. She had come here to buy the new form. With that info, I was satisfied that I could avoid another visit to this PSK. This PSK was off the next day (due to Buddha Poornima). People there told that, applicants gather at the place at 5:30 am to collect the token which is given at 8 am. By 8:10am, 175 tokens (limited per day) are distributed and token counter is closed for the rest of the day. Others??? Try another day!

7) Time- 2:30pm - When people are around Urvashi theater during lunch time, I think they won't avoid lunch at MTR. With my stomach empty and me not having energy to even walk, I had to get in to MTR just to refuel myself. A lunch for Rs. 130 was good enough to bring me home.

8) It is 3:30pm and my last leg for the day is pending - Go to Bangalore One one more time to apply for passport. By 4pm, We three (whole family) landed in Bangalore One. By 5:30pm, we were successful in submitting our passport application for our son! At last, this chapter ends. I calculated the travel distance I covered this whole week to apply for my son's passport. It is 39 Kms. For something which is 5Kms away, I had to do so much of roaming! This again proves that living here is such a hurdle.

Misleading Search Engine

2010-05-25T10:22:00.003-05:00

Search for "Indian Passport" in Google Search. You will be shown "passport.gov.in" website as the first link. This week, the passport office has changed its official website. It is now "passportindia.gov.in". I don't know when Google search will start showing this link! Should we sue search engines for showing old/obsolete websites?

Best solution is to tell the IT guys of Passport office who maintain the website to put a redirect rule on "passport.gov.in" servers so that when customers/users hit that website, they should be automatically taken to "passportindia.gov.in".

Hating this place

2010-05-25T05:03:00.004-05:00

I hate this place. Recent past has made me believe that this is not the best place on earth to live. Having run from Govt. Office A to Office B, I find it easy to come a conclusion that India will not progress in the coming years if the system is like the way it is.

I have made several trips to offices to get things done which still remains 'undone'. Passport office is a big pain in the a&&. After my pain, it is turn for my son's passport application. It is more painful now as the procedure has changed overnight. Nobody knows what to do and I am roaming places to get this sorted.

BBMP is another dirty place. Having paid the tax last month for the coming year, I am yet to get the receipt of payment. First, they told that they are busy receiving payments and cannot write the receipt. Next, they are telling that the cheque is missing or misplaced. They want proof from our side to show that money has been credited into their account. This requires few trips up and down to the bank and this BBMP office.

Banks in India is another pain in the b^!!. Bank people think that customers are in their mercy and not visa-versa. When I went Canara Bank recently to get a DD for Rs. 600, they took 2 hours to print 140 characters on a DD paper! Finally, this DD is useless as the passport office told that 'in favor of' is changed from yesterday. Today, I went to ICICI to get a new DD. This place is much better than that nationalised bank where there is 'no asker, no teller'. For everything, they need to be addressed, "madam..... madam.." for no good reason.

All these have taught me a few things. People who live in India/Bangalore really struggle hard to get things done. They might lose their patience once a while, but, their perseverance and determination shows up at the end of the day. That is how our dad is. He does all the office roaming stuff every day - post office, bank, telephone office, etc.

With that note, I plan to move out of Bangalore/India to a newer place in search of a calmer life. I am heading to Singapore next week to start my new job. New place, new life, new experience.

Wrote a test

2010-05-21T09:46:00.005-05:00

Company 'A' had called me to write a test as part of their recruitment process. The test reminded me of GRE and also the tests which most Bachelor of Engineering (BE) freshers would take.

The whole 3 hours went so fast that I couldn't realize that I was hitting evening traffic while heading home. First impression of this Company 'A' was good. I had no doubts that it is one of the premier companies when it comes to branded software products. There were 4 sections in the test. The first two were Analytical and Quantitative, followed by, Engineering section. The last section was a section on Java and J2EE.

The first two sections consisted of questions similar to the ones I saw during my GRE prep. In Analytical, questions like, "A sits next to B... B doesn't like C and D, E wants to sit with G.. What is the right order of sitting?" took me to my old days (nearly 10 years ago) of Engineering when we wrote such tests every Monsoon season. The Engineering section was something I had to recollect a lot. There were questions related to Assembly level language and a piece of code was given and asked to write the output.

With a quick coffee break, I started my last section on Java/J2EE. This was something I was familiar as it is part of my work. End of this whole session, I said to myself that it had been a long time since I wrote an 'exam' or a 'test'. The last I had written was in DMV at San Diego, CA in 2008.

A nice break

2010-05-20T10:06:00.003-05:00

It has been a nice break from work since Monday as I am in the process of switching jobs. Today, we had been to a Kannada movie 'Aapta rakshaka', which is a sequel of 'Aaptamitra'. The movie was very nice with lots of thrill and suspense. For me, I enjoyed Komal's acting as a comedian in the role of Vishu's assistant.

Last night, we had dinner at MTR. The menu was a huge list which they should distribute before serving. That will give us some idea what is installed and what we should prefer eating. They started serving with 'raagi rotti' which was a heavy starter. Next came 'Bisi bele bhaat'. For some reason, I have started disliking BBB. It makes me feel full within the first two spoons. With rest of the meal being the customary items, I settled for fruits and ice-cream in the end. My take on MTR after this dinner - I can skip MTR dinner in future.

Other days of the week were more of spending time at home. I am reading few things about Indian homemade remedies, herbs and its importance. The herbs I covered were turmeric, pepper, neem and Tulsi. While turmeric+pepper combination is good as a antibiotic, Tulsi has been working fine as an antioxidant. My friend recommended me to have 5 tulsi leaves in water every morning. The effect of this has been positive.

Fresh Rasam Powder

2010-05-16T08:24:00.003-05:00

For the first time, I tried making rasam powder as I wanted to taste a fresh rasam :). Finally, it turned out to be real good and fresh rasam. Recipe was taken from online and I made some changes to suit my taste.

Last day at Y!

2010-05-15T00:57:00.003-05:00

With reference to my earlier blog ( here ) written almost 2 years ago, I got to write this one as a closing ceremony practice. Friday was my last day at Y.

By 4pm, my paperwork formalities were completed and I was ready to say good-bye to everyone there. I did sent a few emails personally to some of my close quarters and got a reply back by the time I shut down my laptop one last time. The team had arranged a farewell party just before leaving. It was a nice experience working in a company like Y.

Everybody had two questions in mind - 1) Why are you leaving? 2) Where are you joining next?
Frankly speaking, there are only few options left to answer both the above questions. It is so simple and straight forward.
For 1), options are:
a) Got a new job with better salary - We call it, "better career opportunity".
b) Didn't like what I was doing.
c) Want to experiment something different.
d) Didn't like the management and the way things were progressing.

For 2) options are:
a) Joining company 'xyz'.
b) Still hunting.
c) Not yet decided what to do next. So, taking a break.

To pick my options, it is d) and c) respectively. I did note that few goof-ups by management do create a bad impression of the company on an employee. I think, it is one of the major reasons people tend to change jobs. There is very little an employee can do to overpower the management. Best is to 'move on'. With hectic work schedule, it is always good to take a break and spend some precious time with family before venturing out back in the ocean!

Passport renewal application submitted

2010-05-13T03:05:00.002-05:00

Submitted for passport renewal today. This task which was in my mind for the past 3 days has been completed without much fuss.

Today, I was in Passport office at 8:30am. By then, around 500 others had already gathered. I didn't know in which line to stand. After few queries, I stood in the right line. By 9:30am, line started moving in to the building. It was hot-hot-hot outside with no shelter. By 10:30am, I had my luck when I was inside the building with a token number in hand.

By 11:30am, I was called to the counter. For my surprise, the counter representative told that my passport is damaged. There was little bit of damage due to spilling of water couple of years ago. Without much doubt, I asked him the steps to resolve this ASAP. An extra Rs. 2,500 (for damaged passport) was the solution given.

By 12:30pm, I was done with payment of fees for my renewal. I should be getting my passport in the next 7 days.

Moral of the story -
1) Keep all documents ready and handy along with photocopies.
2) Be early at the office to stand in the line.
3) Before standing in a line, ask people stand there before standing in that line.
4) Though time-consuming, submitting application is a straight forward one.

Task on hand

2010-05-11T10:10:00.003-05:00

My current task on hand is to get my passport renewed. I am opting for the Tatkaal scheme which should take 3 days from the day I apply.

Today, my agenda was to get the paperwork done for the application. For Tatkaal, two things are important - (1) Verification certificate from an officer of certain cadre and above, (2) Affidavit, with seal and sign by notary.

I went to Income Tax Office to get verification certificate signed by an authorized officer. The office is a treat to visit (if you are not evading to pay tax). It is so neat and welcoming to visitors! I was waiting for the signature in the corridor. One assistant requested me to be seated in the visitor's lounge. Once I went there, it was not an office for me, rather a five-star experience. The visitor sitting area had A/C, a TV, newspaper/magazines, and couches to relax! I got my sign done in a few minutes.

End of the day, my paperwork is half complete with notary sign pending for tomorrow. Bad part about the affidavit process is the scarcity of stamp-paper. With much trouble, I got the stamp-paper and submitted for signature.

Renewal(re-issue) of passport is not an easy one as I had thought. It is a cumbersome process which takes time and patience to get it done without issues.

Reference page - Click here.

In the sea shell

2010-05-03T02:01:00.000-05:00

In the sea shell

Daddy talk

2010-04-29T00:49:00.002-05:00

In the office bus, we have new topics coming up daily. Today's topic was - "how to bring up kids in a good way?" There are 4 young daddies in our bus and there were lots of ideas!
One basic idea was - We need to keep the creativity ON which is missing in today's kids. Kids tend to be passive all the time with TV/computer/video games/etc.

One dad told, "Four things have to be made as low priority for a kid to grow well. TV, computer, mobile phone and friends." We were talking in the age range of 5-18 till they reach college. If a person can stay away from the above 4 things for 2 days, then, he/she is really 'being himself/herself'. If TV and computer are blocked, younger gen will take a mobile and start SMSing with friends. It has become a trend to use more of SMS than talk face-to-face!

Our conversation ended with a note - "Even though we do our best, kids are always influenced by other kids at school."

20 years ago

2010-04-25T23:32:00.005-05:00

As I was watching the IPL finals last night, I saw an Ad on TV saying, "Watch TV on your mobile". No matter how the quality is and how small the screen is, I started to think about advancements in technology in the past 20 years.

This is 2010 and 20 years ago means 1990. Things which were not even imagined have come in to place 20 years later. Below is how 1990 was. We were in Hubli and I was in middle school.

1) 'Internet' was a word unheard of. We never imagined that such a thing can exist. Add to this word, another adjoining word, 'computer'.

2) Mobile phone - A landline was a luxury. We had to wait for 6 months to a year to get a phone connection. Maximum we had seen was a cordless phone! That being the case, mobile phone was something we thought only police use.

3) TV with 180 channels - We had a BPL color TV with 12 channels. Only television channel we had was Doordarshan. How could we imagine to have so many channels that TV itself didn't support?!

4) Digital Camera - 20 years ago, I remember going to a photo studio with my big sports trophy just to get a photo clicked with the rolling trophy. It was supposed to be handed back to school within a couple of days. Processing time for photos was 2-3 days. Camera meant, 'put the roll, click only important events'.

5) Digital money - ATM Debit cards and Credit cards were not the order of the day. Even though they were popular in the West, India took a while to adopt this type of money.

6) Apart from technology, other thing which we had not heard of is the word, 'pizza'. I don't think there was any pizza outlet or maker in India then.

7) On the transport side, a 'car' meant only a few brands, viz., Maruti and Fiat. Other cars on road were branded as 'imported cars'.

Seeing the above, things have changed so much that I can't imagine how 20 years down the lane will look like.

This blog is worth Rs.100

2010-04-24T05:18:00.005-05:00

Last night, I got an email confirmation from company 'T' calling for interview. I had applied and had confirmed my availability over email. After seeing that email, I prepared all the documents required. I don't know why these companies ask for a '1 passport size photo'!

Saturday morning - I got ready and headed towards the interview location which was near Majestic. I arrived at the venue 10 minutes past 9 am which was the scheduled start. My assumption was that not many would turn up as early as 9am; that too on a Saturday. This assumption was true for the interviewers, not for interviewees.

Near the security at the gate, I was told that interview is held at the cafeteria on the top floor. The guard told, "take the stairs to the fifth floor." I was surprised and thought, "no elevator??" After walking up 5 floors, I saw 50 people already waiting there. Nobody was there from company 'T'. I was lucky to find a chair to sit which soon got filled up in the next few minutes. By 10 am, the place had 150 prospective people waiting in that hot place which was covered by metal sheet (asbestos). No fan, no drinking water, no information about the start time - that was the situation. Slowly, 2 persons walk around and confusion started. First announcement was - "This session is not for freshers". With that, few folks with bags on their back left the place.

No more announcements for the next 3 hours. The place was partitioned by 4 ping-pong tables. On one side sat the waiting prospects. On the other side was the testing ground. Spot boy visited the place 2-3 times asking those so-called 'elite Ts' for tea/coffee. I was frustrated with the behavior of the host company. Not even a welcome note, forget about water/snacks.

I was getting bored with nothing to do. I checked my emails on my cell, read some news on rediff, walked around a bit, didn't find a magazine/newspaper around. My waiting had reached its limit. By 12:30pm, I was about to tell 'T', "I need to go. Could you cancel my candidature?" But, on the other side of the mind, I felt, "Let me wait as I have come all the way waking up early on a Saturday morning. Once my name is called, I will go to there and first clarify what this walk-in process is all about." By 1pm, somebody called my name and told me to go to the first floor and meet the HR. Along with me, one more person was told to do the same. We went there and inquired just to be told, "Sorry, your profile didn't match the current project we are interviewing for. You may leave."

No steam was left inside me to talk more. I just thought that I had a huge story to write on my blog today. Person who came with me to the first floor had a worse story. He had come for interview at this same place last week too and was sent home. Since he received an email invite couple of days ago, he came again and had to be sent back this time too.

Finally, this blog is worth Rs.100 - this is the money I spent on Autorikshaw to travel from home and back. Apart from this, everything else turned out to be pure junk. About 'T' - it is among the top 4 Indian companies in the IT sector! From my experience, it looked worse than a Govt. office. In Govt. offices, only expectation is not to set any expectation. May be, these days, Govt. offices are better than before.

Summer season in childhood

2010-04-22T10:50:00.003-05:00

As I was eating the first mango of this season, I was recollecting the childhood days when Summer meant 'mango season'.

Summer season in childhood had these typical connection:
1) Mangos - Hubli days reminds me of 'aapus' mango. One vendor is still in my eyes who used to come just after a heavy rain. He had converted a foldable iron chair into a cart by adding small wheels to it.

2) Playing for hours - My brother and I used to play for hours - both indoor and outdoor. Creativity was touching its limit during this season. New games every day, new rules to a game every day, etc made playing interesting.

3) Kissan juice was the most preferred drink in Summer. We used to get a new bottle of juice concentrate at the start of every season. Thinking the current juices, I think that it was cheaper to buy the concentrate and prepare the juice ourselves. Benefit of today's juices is that it is instant and comes in 100 different flavors. Other popular drink was 'rasna' (I love you rasna - nobody can forget that punch-line).

Color-Color effects

2010-04-14T03:25:00.004-05:00

Color+Color

Black-n-White+Color

Saw the original image in our quarterly magazine and got to know that it was taken by one of our cab-mates. Requested her to send that photo so that I could play around to make it look like the 2nd one.
Did you notice one thing? To have the color in your palm, you need to use your fingers. But, most of the fingers are clean! Answer is - there should have been one person (not in photo) who must have put colors on these palms.

Why ant bite hurts?

2010-03-30T04:10:00.002-05:00

Our son plays with black ants. I am always checking to see if he missed out to identify the type of ant and if that ant turned out to be red ant!

I wanted to know why an ant bite hurts. After hunting on the net, I found out that it is due to formic acid produced by ant. In Latin, Formica means ant.

Easy solution to reduce ant bite pain is to wash the area with soap.

Cubbon Park visit

2010-03-27T10:15:00.002-05:00

Visited Cubbon Park today to show our son a glimpse of train. Kids' train in the park is nice and enjoyable for kids. Our son enjoyed it a lot.

The park is nice with a huge area. Only thing lacking is good maintenance. There could have been more stuff for kids to experience. Right now, there are basic things like slides and seesaws. A few rides and shows will surely make children enjoy.

Temperature was high and it was little hard to bear the weather. Respite was - it is exam season for kids which kept them away from this park. Come next week and the park will be full all 7 days in a week.

For someone who wants to visit:
Park is open from 10 am to 6pm. Entry fee is 5 per adult. Kids - free; Train ride - 10 per adult, kids - Rs. 5. Train rides stop at 5:30pm.
Mondays - Holiday.
2nd Tuesday of the month - Holiday.
Food/snacks is available inside. You are welcome to carry your own food/water.
Parking (cars and bikes) is available in plenty - Rs. 15.

Alphabets

2010-03-23T23:27:00.007-05:00

Recognizing alphabets for our son is always a game. He now recognizes 20 of them :). When I saw it for the first time, I was surprised to see him easily pick the alphabet from the heap. While the above one is for him, below chart is for IT savvy people :).

Got this chart online.

Best video ever shot! Most interesting...

2010-03-12T00:30:00.001-05:00