Shyam's Blog

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.

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!

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 s...

Had this wild spider at the door one fine morning!

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. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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 traff...

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".

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 shop...

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...

  This family visits us daily. Captured them on camera.

  Tell me who is this?

Visited Taco Bell in Bangalore. Tacos were good. But, they don't have Chalupa :( - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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

Saw this on the road ... - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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.

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 ...

Potatoes from our veggie garden... - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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.

Waiting to harvest potato - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone