Health in corporate india- Please Read!

I got this as an email forward- thought it to be quite useful. However- i would prefer if this is validated first.

_______

What killed Ranjan Das and Lessons for Corporate India
A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India . He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra's Carter Road . Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.

It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India . However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was an avid marathoner (in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.

Was it the stress?
A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.

The Real Reason
However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out'

Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep (and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled).

The Evidence
Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject of ‘Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep’. While I cannot share the video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have distilled the key points below in the hope it will save some of our lives.

Some Excerpts:
· Short sleep duration (<5> compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009.
As you know, high BP kills.
· Young people (25-49 years of age) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.· Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.
· Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!
· Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease. Paper published in 2004.· Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.

Ideal Sleep
For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.
The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess (lack of non-REM sleep), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down (I’ve been there, done that L)
Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.
If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth Sleepiness Test below.

Interpretation: Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don’t like to drive (maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that line J)
In conclusion:

Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper food, exercising (marathoning!), maintaining proper weight. But he missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my opinion, that killed him.
If you are not getting enough sleep (7 hours), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.
I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do not even set the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse to get some more sleep. :)

Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance.

100 things restaurant staffers should never do #1

From an NYTimes article

Herewith is a modest list of dos and don’ts for servers at the seafood restaurant I am building. Veteran waiters, moonlighting actresses, libertarians and baristas will no doubt protest some or most of what follows. They will claim it homogenizes them or stifles their true nature. And yet, if 100 different actors play Hamlet, hitting all the same marks, reciting all the same lines, cannot each one bring something unique to that role?

1. Do not let anyone enter the restaurant without a warm greeting.

2. Do not make a singleton feel bad. Do not say, “Are you waiting for someone?” Ask for a reservation. Ask if he or she would like to sit at the bar.

3. Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived.

4. If a table is not ready within a reasonable length of time, offer a free drink and/or amuse-bouche. The guests may be tired and hungry and thirsty, and they did everything right.

5. Tables should be level without anyone asking. Fix it before guests are seated.

6. Do not lead the witness with, “Bottled water or just tap?” Both are fine. Remain neutral.

7. Do not announce your name. No jokes, no flirting, no cuteness.

8. Do not interrupt a conversation. For any reason. Especially not to recite specials. Wait for the right moment.

9. Do not recite the specials too fast or robotically or dramatically. It is not a soliloquy. This is not an audition.

10. Do not inject your personal favorites when explaining the specials.

11. Do not hustle the lobsters. That is, do not say, “We only have two lobsters left.” Even if there are only two lobsters left.

12. Do not touch the rim of a water glass. Or any other glass.

13. Handle wine glasses by their stems and silverware by the handles.

14. When you ask, “How’s everything?” or “How was the meal?” listen to the answer and fix whatever is not right.

15. Never say “I don’t know” to any question without following with, “I’ll find out.”

16. If someone requests more sauce or gravy or cheese, bring a side dish of same. No pouring. Let them help themselves.

17. Do not take an empty plate from one guest while others are still eating the same course. Wait, wait, wait.

18. Know before approaching a table who has ordered what. Do not ask, “Who’s having the shrimp?”

19. Offer guests butter and/or olive oil with their bread.

20. Never refuse to substitute one vegetable for another.

21. Never serve anything that looks creepy or runny or wrong.

22. If someone is unsure about a wine choice, help him. That might mean sending someone else to the table or offering a taste or two.

23. If someone likes a wine, steam the label off the bottle and give it to the guest with the bill. It has the year, the vintner, the importer, etc.

24. Never use the same glass for a second drink.

25. Make sure the glasses are clean. Inspect them before placing them on the table.

26. Never assume people want their white wine in an ice bucket. Inquire.

27. For red wine, ask if the guests want to pour their own or prefer the waiter to pour.

28. Do not put your hands all over the spout of a wine bottle while removing the cork.

29. Do not pop a champagne cork. Remove it quietly, gracefully. The less noise the better.

30. Never let the wine bottle touch the glass into which you are pouring. No one wants to drink the dust or dirt from the bottle.

31. Never remove a plate full of food without asking what went wrong. Obviously, something went wrong.

32. Never touch a customer. No excuses. Do not do it. Do not brush them, move them, wipe them or dust them.

33. Do not bang into chairs or tables when passing by.

34. Do not have a personal conversation with another server within earshot of customers.

35. Do not eat or drink in plain view of guests.

36. Never reek from perfume or cigarettes. People want to smell the food and beverage.

37. Do not drink alcohol on the job, even if invited by the guests. “Not when I’m on duty” will suffice.

38.Do not call a guy a “dude.”

39. Do not call a woman “lady.”

40. Never say, “Good choice,” implying that other choices are bad.

41. Saying, “No problem” is a problem. It has a tone of insincerity or sarcasm. “My pleasure” or “You’re welcome” will do.

42. Do not compliment a guest’s attire or hairdo or makeup. You are insulting someone else.

43. Never mention what your favorite dessert is. It’s irrelevant.

44. Do not discuss your own eating habits, be you vegan or lactose intolerant or diabetic.

45. Do not curse, no matter how young or hip the guests.

46. Never acknowledge any one guest over and above any other. All guests are equal.

47. Do not gossip about co-workers or guests within earshot of guests.

48. Do not ask what someone is eating or drinking when they ask for more; remember or consult the order.

49. Never mention the tip, unless asked.

50. Do not turn on the charm when it’s tip time. Be consistent throughout.

http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/one-hundred-things-restaurant-staffers-should-never-do-part-one/?

#Security #Alert #Apple New iPhone malware spotted

Hot on the heels of the ikee worm, a second piece of iPhone-related malware has appeared, which enables hackers to connect to any device that has been jailbroken and still has an unchanged root password.

Jailbreaking is a term used to define iPhones that have been hacked by users to enable software other than that available through the App Store to be installed.

The new malware takes advantage of the same vulnerability in the iPhone as the ikee worm and has been dubbed iPhone/Privacy.A by Mac security software house, Intego, which first discovered its existence.

The company explained on its blog that hackers use the tool by installing it on either their own or compromised third-party Macs, PCs, Unix and Linux-based machines - or even on iPhones themselves. The program scans networks that are accessible to it and, when it finds a jailbroken iPhone, breaks into it, steals data including email, contacts and music files, and copies them.

Unlike the ikee worm, which indicates its presence by changing the iPhone’s wallpaper, there is no obvious sign that Privacy.A has been installed. Standard, non-jailbroken, iPhones are not at risk but estimates suggest that between six and eight per cent of all such devices are jailbroken.

Intego indicated that it was not possible to protect iPhones from exploitation by the tool at this time and therefore advised users to stick to stock configurations or risk exposing themselves to known vulnerabilities being exploited by code circulating in the wild. The supplier has developed VirusBarrier X5 to detect and eradicate the hacker tool on potential host Macs, however.

The release of Privacy.A comes the day after a poll by security software vendor Sophos indicated that a huge three-quarters of respondents believed that the Australian student who wrote the ikee worm was justified because he helped raised awareness of security issues.

But Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at the vendor, was proved right in saying at the time that the move had let the genie out of the bottle, increasing the likelihood of others writing “a far more dangerous version of the worm, which could have a much more dangerous payload”.

http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2252939/iphone-malware-spotted

Parachute XVI - A must Listen!

This is a friend's band - i heard this piece and just fell in love with it. I think you should also listen to it... Simply AWESOME!

http://www.parachutexvi.com/

Trojan attack targets #Facebook users

Security experts have warned Facebook users to be on the alert after the discovery of a new password malware scam linked to the Bredolab Trojan.

Email security firm Websense claimed yesterday to have seen 90,000 instances of the attack, calling it a "new wave of malicious spoof email attacks".

The messages purport to come from Facebook and are designed to appear as a simple password reset confirmation. However, a .exe file in the mail contains a hidden virus with a nasty payload.

Websense said in a security alert that the .exe file connects to two servers in order to download additional malicious files. The victim's PC then joins the Bredolab botnet, giving hackers full control.

"This spam email attack is designed to play on the subject at the forefront of users' minds: their password security," said Carl Leonard, Websense security labs manager.

"Falling for this scam could lead to the unsuspecting user becoming part of a botnet. With therecent hack of web email accounts, users would feel more compelled to open an attachment that purports to hold their new password, as they'd be worried who changed it in the first place.

"Our advice for users is to always go directly to the web address you have an account with and reset passwords there."

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, confirmed that the malicious emails have been spammed out widely across the internet.

"The 'from' address has been forged, and the attached file is in fact a piece of malware. Sophos detects the malware as Troj/BredoZp-M or Mal/Bredo-A," he wrote in a blog post.

"Don't make life easy for the hackers hell-bent on infecting your computer, stealing your identity and emptying your bank account. Exercise caution when you receive unsolicited emails, and protect your computer with up-to-date security software."

Doctors and the Consumer protection act - #India

There was an interesting debate going on on the Radio this mornig - as to should the doctors be brought under the consumer protection act. Personally - my views are mixed. A part of me says yes - yet a part of me says no.

No - When someone looses a person or goes through a loss of some kind or is affected by any way- the first question they ask is "Why me?" a feeling of victimization comes in, and then they want to realize their loss by taking "Revenge" how - by filing a case. If doctors try everything to save, no matter what - would that be seen- or would it be that the outcome is noted?

Its easy to sit back and say - yes, i tried, but i am sorry, and the patient thinks- i have to live with this, and not you. how can this be? I personally believe this will lead to unrelated cases against doctors and putting a lot of pressure on the legal system which is already burgeoning.

In certain cases, due to legal reasons - doctors don't treat accident victims, simply due to the fact if they die - the doctors will be responsible and a whole host of police complications. From a legal reform perspective, doctors who do not treat patients should be taken to task - esp accident cases, in which the first hour is the most critical hour.

With a hospital bed density of 3.9 beds per 1000 - the reach of healthcare in India is abysmal, and thus the need to have victims rush to the nearest hospital is of greater importance than to insist - accident case -go to the Government hospital.

In these cases the doctors should come under the purview of the consumer protection act - which simplifies the process of seeking justice due to reduced paperwork and other legally related issues.

In the recent past, a close family friend lost a relative. The patient was in a coma for nearly 3 weeks in the ICU. With the kidneys shutting down and the liver stopping as well. Now, the doctors and in this case I would blame the hospital - pushed the parents to the point where they are now in debt by about 15L. As a parent, any possible hope that the child would survive, will be a ray of hope- simply because NO parent wants to bury their child. However, to a layman, this case of the hospital scans, xrays and infusing blood into a coma patient who's organs have all but shutdown is a process of opportunistic. The said hospital also told the parents to get two medicines that cost over 2L each "which would help clear the body of toxins" created by the defunct liver.

After three weeks in a coma - the hospital took the patient in for an "operation" to clean up the body.

Would these procedures help or were they excessive in order to extract more from the desperate parents is a question I am not qualified to answer, but should doctors come under the purview of the consumer protection act (which incidentally they are) - is a yes.

The next logical question - should a hospital be a corporate entity?

Simply #Gross!

Pictures taken at a friends House! What did the manufacturers think before they made this? Incase you are wondering - its a scorpion with its tail inside a cobras mouth. I hope as hell that they are breeding these snakes and not killing them from the wild.

Only in thailand!

achievements and yearning!

This morning, like with all mornings this week, I have been dropping my mother at her office. So it is around 9am whn we finally leave the house and i am able to drop her off in about thirty minutes, and get back to my office in about another twenty minutes.

this morning, like other mornings was the same. I reached home, and decided that instead of waiting downstairs, I would go up and say hello. I also wanted to use this excuse to go up and collect my hands free - a small device on my mobile that I hve een missing sorely- so badly that i did not go cycling since I would not have music to listen to from the phone.

After dropping my mother off at her office, I started back. The drive back was un-eventful untill gemini flyover. What was so different today?

I come past gemini, and am on nungumbakkam highroad - or according to the official releases - uttamar gandhi salai. the reasoning behind this - can be asked to any body after handing them a patiala whiskey- which would make any true blooded man, woman and for pretty much any human - sozzled out of their sane minds.

So as i was driving past the Park hotel i see what appear to be busboys, hiding behind a pillar, but if they were attempting to hide it was a rather tactless move as the city in its entirity could see them, much like the ostrich. The guys had on such loose suits as one of them was demonstrating to the other- he pulled up the sleve of the suite, and adjusted the cuff of the shirt. Now that usually is how its done, in theory, but in practice- he yanked up the damn things almost till his elbow. Therefore, in a single, swift motion, he was able to demonstrate to the entire group of people who were stuck in traffic on the main road - that they dont know how to wear, correct fitting suits.

I personally was laughing at him, but what caught my attention was not the two of them, or the other security guards hanging around the hotel, nor the total lack of traffic on my side of the road and something that is more packed than a can of sardines with traffic on the other, but a lone man on a cycle.

I would have guessed his was either a carpenter or a plumber as he was carrying a hacksaw on his bike. He was looking at those two people with a mixture of awe, jealousy and ambition. That one fleeting second - I was thinking - how many times have i gone through that blend of emotions.

the realization came - life is made up of moments, and stringing these events together gives us the experience and a set of experiences is called life.

The beginning ?

Wanted to check something on twitter - so went to the site, and lo behold!

the significance of the image- i have no idea- but its a start.

the iPod Journey

when the ipod was introduced in 2001, it was disruptive. to the simple fact, it took the personal music world by storm. But then to ensure that there is repeat business, Apple launched the iTunes Store. now that just rocked. With it starting operations in 2003, iTunes store has sold over 6 Billion songs by Jan 2009- thus making it the largest music store in the US.

What caught my attention was this advert on the Apple website- which showed that the iPod can now record videos. This is a brilliant product extension. First as a music player. That means that the entertainment desire is satiated. Next it moved with photos and movies full filling the higher need of visually capturing the owner. Next came the camera- that extended the need to capture moments and save them. Wifi to become the mobile computer- Now finally - the motion capture- in effect, the iPod has replaced the Camera, Walkman, Storage device and any other device that a family might need while going out - the only logical extension they can do to the iPod is inbuilt a GPS system - thus making it complete entertainment center.

Pretty exciting times- next they need to increase the battery life - or embed solar cells onto the back of the iPod that will allow it to charge while in the sun.

This is exciting- the possibilities are endless.

#Intel heating up the notebook space - Nehlem goes mobile!

Looks like the next big thing after the centrino -

Chip giant Intel has taken the wraps off its latest mobile processor based on its Nehalem architecture.

During his keynote speech at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, Dadi Perlmutter, executive vice president and general manager of the Intel Architecture Group, announced details of the Core i7 Mobile processors.


The new quad-core CPUs are designed for high-performance mobile PCs and, like their desktop counterparts, feature Intel's Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost technology, which allows the processor clock speed to be ramped up past stock frequency depending on workload.

"With intelligent features like Intel Turbo Boost Technology, Hyper-Threading Technology and a host of others, Intel has revolutionised the laptop PC processor, delivering performance when you need it, energy efficiency when you don’t," said Perlmutter.

"For the first time, mobile users can choose a laptop that delivers internet-server like speed, right in their laps for the most demanding tasks, from intense gaming to digital video editing and social media applications."

There will be three mobile Core i7 processors, the 920XM, 820QM and 720QM, which run at 2GHz, 1.73GHz and 1.6 GHz – with the possibility to boost to 3.2GHz, 3.06GHz and 2.8GHz respectively.

Formerly codenamed Clarksfield, the new units also include two-channel DDR3 1333MHz memory support and full 1 x16 or 2 x8 PCI Express 2.0 graphics.

The Core i7 mobile processors will be available in two flavours, a regular and an Extreme edition, with the latter supporting Extreme Memory Profiles and the Extreme Tuning Utility, allowing users to overclock and fine-tune the laptop.

According to Intel, big names such as Asus, Dell, HP and Toshiba will begin shipping laptops using the Core i7 mobile processors today, with others due to start using them in the coming months.

As you might expect, the new chips are not exactly cheap. When bought in trays of 1,000 units the 920XM will cost $1,054 (£642.31) each, while the 820QM and 720QM are priced at $546 (£332.73) and $364 (£221.82) each when bought in trays of 1,000.



http://is.gd/3HVr4

Paper records are still better managed than Data

For many companies, management of electronic data is still worse than that of paper records, according to a recent study.

Information management industry group AIIM cited a recent survey of some 700 companies that indicated that many firms are still not taking management of digital records seriously.

The survey found that 26 per cent of companies have no official management policies for electronic records, while only 56 apply legal hold to electronic documents. Paper documents, by comparison, were retained for legal hold in 71 per cent of companies.

The advocacy group blames the disparity in part to muddled attitudes towards management of electronic data. The company suggested that for many enterprises, data retention and archiving is considered an IT issue rather than a records management issue.

"We found that over a third of organisations, if challenged, would not be confident that their electronic records had not been changed, deleted or inappropriately accessed," said AIIM president John Mancini

"These companies would be at a major disadvantage in any legal action, defending or prosecuting."

Management and retention of digital information has become a hot topic for enterprise IT in the past 10 years. Regulatory acts such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPA in the US have forced many companies to apply tighter standards to the way they manage information.

http://is.gd/3HURT

#Thoughts about life

We are all searching for something. What particular thing varies from person to person. It is to satiate a need, a want or a desire. The search is what gives us meaning, meaning to our existence, meaning to our waking up each morning, and saying “today is going to be a good day” or “today is going to be a horrible day”. This search leads us to the far corners of the world, up the highest mountains, down the deepest oceans, and to the extreme of climates.
What is your search comprising of? As you evolve over time, a lot of things are either clearer to you, or make less sense as it already made little sense earlier and it is what makes one sit up and thing about what you are doing and what you are going through.

When you go through life, you tend to think that you have experienced life, be it multi cultural exposure or be it multinational exposure. What we are is forged by what we want to be. What we want to be is forged by our ideals. The search what we undertake is a search that never ends. So does that mean we can never define who we really are?

When you believe that you have found something, nature’s course is that you realize that something else is missing or is incomplete, so you start a search for that iteam or feeling. First it is love, then money, then power, then happiness then health. Imagine it to be like a large shopping cart, and the more we pile up, the more difficult it will be to navigate the aisle of life. When we need to turn through and complete everything before we become old, we end up rushing through a lot of memories, experiences and situations that allow us to look back in life and sya “what if?”

The “what if” scenario is something that haunts us all, and thus it raises another quest – a search for the “what if” equivalent to the past experience.
In our quest to discover, we tend to be overwhelmed with feelings and desires, however, these are all obstacles in our quest. These are placed in our paths for a reason. For experience. As they say, god does not give us what we want, however, god gives us the opportunity to bring out that quality. Similarly, as we go about living life, we tend to gain experience. This experience is what is put together to make us better individuals in life. We need to constantly learn from these expriences to allow us to make better judgements, and take better decisions in life.

the #JetAirways Drama - #brandImpact?

With the recent pilots strike that was called- and the further 256 odd pilots going on strike for the re-enstatement of the 2 sacked pilots, thus putting the entire jet airways operations on hold - and holding the entire aviation industry to somthing just short of ransom. What was really surprising was that during one of the news articles, I rememberd seeing a sign being held up by other jet airways employees- are " 2 pilots more important than 13000 staff?"
it got me thinking- why did they strike in the first place? that 2 pilots got sacked for "forming a welfare group" and this is what the "welfare group" is capable of?
Whom are they kidding?

a 18 Crore a day loss
281 Flights cancelled

now jet is offering a 50% discount. But the brand image has been hit so bad.

How do you measure the brand impact? Folks are going to take a bug hit at this- there was a news article about the customers lost faith due to last minute cancellations.

the largest percentage of jet is busienss travellers- now gaining the confidence is going to cost a LOT more.

Long term impact- will take a while to calculate!

Sidvin Festival of Speed

just back from the recently concluded sidvin festival of speed. some really awesome racing, and from whre i was watching, some real close calls.

some pictures from the event.

#LongExposure - Night Shots

We had a nice power outage, which appeared to have knocked out power in lots of places. We were sitting in our balacony and took a few shots!

#India Independence Day 1947 Pictures- Awesome!

I just got this via email - i dont know the source or the copyright information - so if someone believes this is copyrighted material and want me to take it down - i will happily comply!

Crimson Chakra - A review

I chanced apon a visit to Crimson Chakra over the weekend, and out of disdain i decided to pen down everything i thought was simply terrrible at the place.

This might be long.. uh oh! :)

firstly, the restaurant claims to be a fine dining restaurant, however, there was hardly any fine in the dining. the place was crowded, noisy and the waiters were sweaty and flustred. Now, when you come to a restaurant where you shell out so much money from your pocket, one would expect that there would be decent linen on the table, and a white pristine table cloth, well arranged napkins and adequate cuttlery. However, this was far from that. Ther was tissue paper and two table spoons on the table. There was a general mat which can be bought at LifeStyle and the glasses were very ordinary. there was no soup spoon and we had to use a table spoon. They removed all our cuttlery with the starters and did not give us alternatives for the rest of the meal.

There were no table cloths and it was this runner that ran across the table. the runner was dirty and the toilet had piping exposed and no paper/ towels.

Either there was something wrong with the water supply or it was not being filtered enough, with every dish and drink smelling of stale water, it put me off to no extent.

The drinks had no substance in them. I tried a ginger and jagery based drink which is not the best drink to have on an empty stomach considering it was quite sweet.

the soup was nxt - the first thought that comes to mind with their soup is broth. Spicy broth. there was no chicken or even a hint of it when we went through it. It was spicy rasam. very spicy rasam.


The next came the starters - the variety in meat was wide- Prawns, Fish, Chicken and Mutton, however, they were pretty similar in their taste and there were almost no accompanyments. Yes, they did provide a set of dips - but there were a 3 dips and 2 powders. Dunno what they expected people to use the spicy powders with spicy chutney and spicier starters.

The Appam - it was an insult to any true bred malayali to eat such abysmial apams. Cold, flat and thick. Appams need to be hot, crisp and cannot be brought one at a time for a large group. What are they thinking?

there ware two dishes to be had with the appam and roti, and then the biryani was brought. That was just OK. nothing great.

The sweet dishes that we got were just terrible. there was WAY too much ghee in the goosberry halwa and the other had some goo (called cotton seed souffle) coming out. finally stuck to ice cream - and had the most sour cherry on it.

All these combined, makes me think - what are people doing putting such expensive restaurants together. At 425 per head for lunch + Taxes - this si no wWAY a cheap place, and the place was in no way "fine dining"

so, they need to pull their socks up togther with some hard work - elese - i hope they see the light of six months!

#Airtel - you are bad!

I just received an SMS from Airtel -

Kindly note- All Local SMS sent on 2nd August (Friendship day) will be charged @50p/SMS. Dial 171152 (Toll Free) For more details.

On dialing the number- you get the same pre recorded message. how can they do this? if they are doing it for "friendship day" what stops them from doing the same on all other holidays.

So even though I have paid Rs 99 for unlimited SMS (9999 sms actually) per month, I pay for the sms on that day. Doesnt this correlate to extortion?

Airtel - you suck! im being open about it. You are a very bad person. The minute the number portability comes out- im outa airtel. hate you more and more!

outstanding! #quotes

The object of our Constitution makers was free movement and exchange of goods throughout India. It is essential for the economy of India and for sustaining improving living standards of its people. It should ultimately lead to one-country-one-people concept and economic benefit of the development should reach every citizen wherever he lives. The people of the state must sink and swim together. The long-run prosperity and salvation lies in union and not division. Economic unity is the main force for achieving cultural and political unity and stability and progress can be achieved only by demolishing artificial boundaries and barricades and should be sidelined.


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1409791-post1.html

Of luck and #entrepreneurship ! #startups

I was thinking the other day, as an entrepreneur, do i rely on luck or chance or both? well, as they say, you get lucky if you are at the right place at tht right time, but does luck play an integral part?

if you have a good day, you will think back and say - yes, i heard this song in the morning, shampooed my hair and used this soap, then there becomes a favorite soap, then it becomes the only soap you use. I think as an entrepreneur, you tend to become a lot more superstitious- so to say.

i remember during the 12th board exams - more than a decade ago, ( i like that phrase) i used to get dropped in the morning, on the way, i used to listen to music, and the days i could not listen to music in the car, i used to panic, and go and mess up the exam. then i started carrying a walkman, listening to a cassette even if the car music system did not work. So how is that relevant now?

My case exactly, if i listen to something nice in the morning, start feeling happy, then use my favouritest shampoo and soap, eat my favorite serial, and then wear my favorite dress, there is a high probability that i will hav a nice day.

now that brings me to the second point and infact, a point which i believe is quite important- positive thinking.

i believe that we should go to our day with a cheer and excitement, not or dispair... yes, there are bound to be stressful events, however, allowing those events to bog you down is not the best thing to have around.

so as an entrepreneur, i think luck plays a pivotal role, and possitive thinking paves the way for luck!

abysmal Customer service @ shopper stop?

Quite a horrifying tale of pathetic customer service at Shopper stop. considering its proximity to my place, i think i would have easily spent over 30,000 there atleast.

Its even more pathetic when it hits so close to him. My wife had visited and was talked to such...

I had visited Shopper’s on Thursday, July 23rd ’09 at about 8.00 PM. Having selected a shoe, I was waiting my turn at the billing counter. Once I got to the front, there seemed to be some trouble with the billing machine/system. Meanwhile there was an executive counting out cash (of someone else’s purchase) at the same counter.

Having waited for over 20 minutes at the counter without any billing having taken place– I happened to ask the person behind the counter if he could please let me know when the billing for my item could be done.

To which he responded in the most condescending manner “Can’t you see I’m counting out money?! If you’re so impatient – why don’t take this and count!”, and he extended the cash towards me!!
I was OUTRAGED at being responded to in such as manner – to a very polite question to which he could have given a simple answer!!!
I told him so – to which he responded again in arrogance “Don’t be so impatient the systems are also down – if you can’t wait, just leave!”. I told him I would like to meet the manager and not have him responding to a customer in SUCH A RUDE MANNER! He then billed my item in 2 minutes time and shoved it across the counter, all the while muttering to himself!

When i read this email - i was quite aghast! this is very sad! Where are we heading in this world? Does shoppers stop believe that they can get away with such a crime?

Bad doggy shoppers stop! I know for one - im going to stop going there. please do the same!

Flyby Chennai!

Whilst making our final approach to chennai domestic airport, we were flying quite low - given the fact this was an ATR. I took the liberty of trying to take a few picture, however, due to the total spaz nature of the phone, it brought the flash on even though i turned it off. The airhostess then decided to give us a tip "take a video" which was one of the most brilliant ideas i heard.

anyways, took a short clip of the approach and flgith over chennai at night. Need to go again, and shoot a better video... :)

kerala in the rains

i am visiting kerala after a gap of about 6 month, and i think to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time im coming in july. Maybe i have done so earlier, but i cant remember.

Some pictures i snapped from the train.

x Files - the Movie

Terrible!

Have been a long time X-Files fan so when the new movie was released, I quickly got the DVD when it hit the stands. So yesterday, my wife and i decided to watch the movie.

summary in a single word - terrible.

The plot, story, characters and the overall movie would hav been a good film if it did not have the xfiles tag, as there was no X in it at all!

at the end of the movie it was an all and all disappointing flick, that mulder and scully had a kid who dies, but they are not married, that the FBI is looking and that no one but him believes in psychics.

One would have assumed that the movie would have started off where the other left off. but that was not the case, and it brought about a whole different angle to it.

It would have made a good episode in the x-files but not a full length film.

The power of positive thinking!

a long and standing mantra that most people believe in is the power of positive thinking- which according to google throws out about 7,650,000 pages of information. Now how does one not ignore this?

I did not think too much of it till recently. Going through a rather tough patch myself at work, i decided to think positive with the focus on whats happening rather than whats not.

Personally, i think it has made a huge difference. I feel happier, feel less stressed, and most importantly, am enjoying my work a lot more than i could have imagined that i could. I am really beginning to fathom this concept, and guess at a stage where i might embrace it simply for its sheer power and size.

i love camera phones - my picture of the day

was driving home last evening, and the skies did a little dance. i was at the right place at the right time- i captured this dance.

Its now the turn of Twitter!

A new spammed malware attack is impersonating messages from micro-blogging site Twitter.

Researchers at Symantec said that the attack poses as an invitation to join Twitter with the message: 'Your friend has invited you to Twitter.' The message also contains images of the Twitter logo and front pages.

Rather than send the user to Twitter by way of a URL, however, the message asks the user to open an attachment under the name 'InvitationCard.zip'. On launching the attached file, the user is infected with a malicious worm that attempts to send out mass email messages.

Users are advised not to open the invitation attachments or any other unsolicited or suspicious email attachments.

"As Twitter continues to gain popularity among social networking users, people are regularly receiving invitations and email updates from fellow users, " wrote Symantec researcher Sammy Chu in a blog post.

"We expect that spammers will continue to use Twitter and other popular social networks as bait in their attacks."

The practice of disguising malware as email attachments and greeting cards is not new. Attacks such as the infamous Storm worm were routinely spread under the guise of greeting card attachments.

Attacks targeting Twitter have also become more common in recent months as the site has seen its popularity soar. Attacks have ranged from account-stealing hacking attempts to cross-site scripting attacks and malware distribution attacks.

source: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2244458/malware-threat-targets-twitter

Facebook Worm!

A general word of caution to all facebook users- considering its one of the most popular social networking sites, i guess is a general caution to all.

There are several worms doing the rounds on facebook - the most recent of them being the koobface.
the modus operandi is the same- send a link through a message, considering its coming from a friend, you tend to visit it, after that it downloads a trojan onto the system. Now the scary part is that its using the macromedia / activex route to run this exploit.
its asking for the update, its downloading a worm onto the system, and then when you visit facebook the next time, it gets your username / password and replicates itself. from the facebook account. It has appeared to have been more complext through a greater level of automation than before. So next time a message comes from a friend, please check the message before visitng the site.

More :
http://news.cnet.com/facebook-fights-new-koobface-worm-another-rogue-app/
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/07/elaborate-facebook-worm-virus-spreading/

The game that is Gravity

http://www.media.perthnow.com.au/multimedia/2008/12/html/gravity.html

i came across this game on the internet- flash based, however, terribly addictive. I am not trying to score top points, but jus trying to complete each level.

you have to move the ball to pick up all the magic balls on the way. you need to draw shapes with the mouse to move the ball- all using the laws of physics. So, use levers, weights, inclines etc and move it...
try it- its addictive!

Apple site hacked!!!

pretty excited with my finding - the apple site http://www.apple.com/asia/buy/locator/svcindex.html if you select a country and then click serach - it takes you to

http://foo.example.com/cgi-bin/tester

thats a comprimize or a REALLY bad upgrade job- like forgetting to remove the gauze from a patient during an operation.

Love affairs with Horns!

Something must really be done to those jokers who cheating on their wives, girlfriends and boyfriends with the horn. Its so weird, and i dont think i will ever get the reason people are so anxious to blo0w the horn. there will be nothing in front of them, yet blow the horn.

thats why i believe we need to start a de-addiction center to help those who have the following:
1. fetish for blowing horns on empty roads
2. hornblowingholic
3. someone who is cheating on their partnr - with the horn - using every opportunity to touch, feel, caress and press the damn horn!

there should be something which makes people reaslise that blowing the horn will not get it done faster, but just make you more irratated. I think the order of the day is to install horns INSIDE cars. so if someone uses it in excess, they cut down automatically, since the noise is now inside as well! :)

Legend that is Yuyutsu

A friend of mine and his wife are expecting their first child, when asked what is the name on his mind - the name Yuyutsu came up. At first - I thought it was an african name, with the Us and Ys... but then on further research, I was uniquely surprised that its an Indian name and more importantly from the Mahabharatha.

I read the great indian epic a few months ago and, to say the least, have been quite inspired by it. Indraprashtra - the home for the gods was also the kingdom of the Pandavas after they lost everything- a symbol of what can be built even with nothing - now thats inspiration. It towered over the landscapes and contained all the comforts that adorned a king, however, the land was barren before the pandavas were given the place.

coming to Yuyutsu - i starting doing some research and found him to be quite a character. He was the 101st kaurava but was born to Dhritrashtra by a Maid servant who was waiting on him. He was one of the 11 athirathi or one who is capable of killing 10,000 warriors at a time.

He was righteous to the point he stood up against Dhuryodhana's actions - against dhraupadi and the pandavas and was thus the last and only survivor of the Kurkshetra war simply because he joined the side of the Pandavas.

when the pandavas finally passed over - Yudhishthir handed over Indraprashtra to Yuyutsu.

What a story!

sourced from all over the internet.

Techie Awards

Well,
one must realise with evolving times, the awards and prizes must also evolve. So when you have a bunch of nerds, you obviously want to give them something they like- for instance a limited edition Star Wars Lightsaver! :) (this is inspiration from Big Bang Theory)

I recently came across a rather interesting set of prizes.

The Prizes
The prizes are sponsored by Microsoft India. The winner gets to choose any one prize from the following:

2 Year Flickr Pro Account
(or)
50 WordPress.com Premium Credits
(or)
2 Premium Wordpress Themes
(or)
1 .com domain of your choice, valid for 5 years
(or)
1 .in domain of your choice, valid for 3 years
(or)
1 Premium RapidShare account, valid for 6 month

How Cool is that! Now I'm inspired to compete!

Breaking traffic rules

Its frustrating when you see drivers blatantly breaking all the road rules, just to make their life easier. This morning, I noticed a large innova with the number TN 04 P 9995 - yes, i am publishing the number here, with the sincere hope that someone reads this and tells the owner- coming out and turning onto the wrong side of the road, and driving a good 100 mts. What more annoying is that this guy does it EVERY day, and sometimes much longer distances.

I know the apartment, but i dont know if i should stop him and tell him to go the other way. :( I just had to get it out of my system... so here is the post.

remember the number is TN 09 P 9995- If you see it - tell the driver to respect road rules and drive properly!

cycling coverage in India

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epaperpdf/19042009/18sunday-pg15-0.pdf

Twitter

Have started moving more towards Twitter. Going to try and blog more often.
you can follow me http://twitter.com/madan/

fundraising and VCs

Venture Capital Crash Course with Jason Mendelson from Andrew on Vimeo.

Uphill ride

Did my first uphill ride today. It was hard, and time consuming but the low gear ratios on the trek 4300D really helped a lot. the first leg of the journey was a 15 km ride to the base of the hill. from there it was about a 2 km ride UP... now that was killing. However, i told myself that i will not walk- that meant that i had to ride up. I stopped 3 times, but that was worth it. Managing to cycle up.. got me highly kicked. Even though i was the last one up (considering i was the last to start) cycling up was totally worth it! :)

safari 4 Beta

Really impressive feature

roadside blogging

one of the biggest disadvantages of having a really fast car is the urge and tendency of pushing the car, now throw in a set of race specificaiton tyres and an empty road well... Damn!!!

So i decided to "see what MY CAR can do" and pushed it. It was an exhilaraing experience, loved every minute of it... But sadly, all good things ,must end and so did my joyride. All things were going jus great when i suddlenly see the temp needle hitting the roof. I stop & check & realise albiet Naturally- that ive blown the cooling system. Bummer.

So i stop, make a few calls and ask for the mech to come by, waiting out here on the side of the road, i decided to blog. Very bizzare but never in my life did i imagine this would happen. Technology would reach such a stage taht i can actually do this.

But the nicest thing to ever happen- a youg lad stops by and says - ive noticed that youve brpken down for more than half hour, would you like some help!!! God bless him. I was speechless. Thank you- for stopping and for being concerned!

Still here, been almost 2 hours, guess ill be out of here in a bit.




Damn i love this country!!!

Delhi 6

my wife and i finally went for a move after a very long time. we got tickets for delhi 6 - a  new realease by the same director who made Rang De Basanti - Rakyesh Omprakash - it was a TRAGIC disappointment. One would assume that with a cast of rishi kapoor, om puri and wahida rahaman, the film will be as gripping as ever, the only gripping that was happening was me clawing into my seat out of sheer desperation. 

the film has a very relevant theme- of communal hatred being stirred by people with ulterior motives, caste and arranged marriages. the same thing that all people think of when they come to india. 

but thats it, it stops there,. there was a story that was smaller than a grain of rice, and the acting by certain characters was non existent. The most amount of dialogue came from the "news reporters" in the movie than from the lead characters. 

how did this get funding? :( 

apologies?

i was thinking and penning down something similar  - but this blogger took the words right out! :)

http://imdur1980.blogspot.com

to think about it, there are a few people that i would like to rewind the clock and not say what i had said, and apologize to them, but i don't see that happening. :(

Slum Dog Millionaire - a repeat?

i know this might seem a little excessive, but what if? I equate this to the East India Company again. they came, they saw, they liked, they used, they got glory and now claim to be theirs.
Danny boyle (As much as I appreciate the other flicks sir!) has said it himself - "In Reality - IT is a british film".
Though the cast, crew, music, script and original story are indian - he is claiming it to be brit! damn!

Source: Times of India: http://is.gd/kCWE

Danny Boyle, 52, was born into a middle-class Irish family. He grew up in Northern England, and perhaps it is because he contemplated priesthood as a vocation in his youth that he now has this inexorably calm demeanour that refuses to be ruffled by accusations of poverty porn. Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan has even called him a saint. The self-deprecatory Brit in Boyle laughs off the praise. “My mother would have loved it if I had been a saint, but I’m far from it. I’m a very real guy,’’ he says.

A very real guy who has made a very real film, the brightest feather in a cap which boasts other acclaimed productions such as 28 Days Later and Trainspotting. “We worked with a budget of 13 million dollars. That is the amount I could raise without having a major Hollywood star in it, but we made it look like a hundred million dollars because we spent all of it on screen.’’

Talking to Times of India from Los Angeles an hour after he picked up his Oscar, a slightly out of breath, Boyle said, “I’m truly happy that every Indian I meet is beaming, and it is the ultimate compliment for me that people in India see Slumdog Millionaire as an Indian film. However, in reality it is a British film. It is a very gritty in the beginning and very realistic because our film culture is based on that kind of realism which in Hollywood and Bollywood isn’t quite there.’’

How soon does Boyle intend to return to Mumbai? “As I have said earlier, I intend to do a thriller in Mumbai. We are talking to a couple of people. It will be a while before the script is ready. I would be very privileged to work in India.’’

Although Boyle’s exposure to Bollywood is admittedly limited, he has seen some of its cinema. “Honestly I hadn’t seen too much of it before I came to Mumbai to shoot Slumdog,’’ he says. “I’ve seen films by Shekhar Kapur, Mira Nair and Anurag Kashyap and Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya and Company. I liked what I saw because they are very much like my taste. These were different films, but I love the regular Bollywood stuff as well.

Finally, who is the real Danny Boyle? Sinner or saint? “I am not a saint, sadly,’’ he says. “I just give my job and the people I work with a lot of respect. And I’m always willing to learn. As a film-maker it is not about having a reputation and just going and doing it. With each film, you have got to learn. I like learning. I like starting from scratch. You learn that from your actors and from people who help you like Loveleen Tandan, Raj Acharya, Resul Pookutty and, of course, the charismatic Rahman.’’

lovely charts!

finally! i found a site where i can make my process flows et al, without having to lug two laptops (one mac and one pc) just to do my process flows.
and its pretty powerful as well.

check out ...
www.lovelycharts.com

the need to state!

sometimes, i still wonder- the actual reason to explisitly state the obvious!

"Contents of the cup may be hot" this has already been printed onto a plastic cup that i bought from abroad.

well, as they say - only there can this happen!

I was browsing a rather large online retailer - which led me to a product:
Something (changed name) 10-Foot Premium Shuffleboard Table with Solid Maple Playfield.. so now we know that this is 10ft long made of wood.
but what really took the cake was:

"Ships Separately in Original Packaging: If sending as a gift, note that contents cannot be concealed."
wow! i was wondering how i would conceal a table of 10 ft length!

Competition

The Automated Teller Machine market is highly competitive. With the large players being Tritron, NCR, Diebold, Wincor etc. so when a website wants to ensure high advertisement charges, what do they do?
advertise all at the same time! :)

I couldnt capture the screen shot, but the article was sponsored by Tritron, one ad from NCR talking about their 120 year heritage and the other from Diebold talking about their 150 year heritage.

So, the question is - would i choose the 120 years or 150 years?? hhmm? i dont know, given the fact that 120 years ago also there were no ATMs.

the Diebold Ad

finally- some nice shots

i have begun to realize that i take some nice pictures with my phone camera- maybe i should get a better phone camera! :) 

Fiat Linea

The much awaited Fiat Linea based on the grand Punto platform has finally arrived. Much to the relief of eager customers, who have booked the cars even before the prices have been announced- such is the anticipation with which the car has been received. Touted as competition to the Fiesta, SX4, Verna and Honda City G3 the Linea beats them with its commanding presence and feature packed offering.

The Linea comes to India after a hiatus of almost 6 years with no new vehicle launches by Fiat India, so the excitement of a new product is palpable. With the Palio launch in 2002, with the upgrades in 2003, and the Stile launch in 2005 and the MJD launch in 2008, the Palio has seen a mild transformation between engines and facelifts.

The Linea on the other hand is going to be a rocker. With showrooms clambering to display the product, and with fiat delaying the official word on the cost till its “official” launch on Jan 14th 2009, the Linea will be the most important product for 2009- because Fiat needs a success. Fiat has also gone all out to ensure this- with the Fiat – Tata tie up for sales and service, and the ramping up of the distribution network for spares, the company is ensuring that they do not fall along where they have failed before.

The Car:
Exteriors – the Fiat comes with rather bold body lines. Made it Europe is written all over, with its huge grill, stylized headlights and large tail lamps, the linea has some of the most exciting lines. The finish of the body panels is quite nice and the car appears to be firmly planted with the standard 15” wheels. The ground clearance in the showroom looks ok, but how this fares in the real world will need to be tested.

The Engine: The Linea comes with the tried and tested 1.3Multi Jet Diesel, however, what sets it apart from the rest of the herds of Swifts, dZirs, Palios and Vistas is the fact that Fiat has re-engineered the engine to include a VGT turbo, thus, allowing for a more liner delivery of power, as opposed to a turbo kick at about 1450 RPM. The VGT thus allows for a better squeeze, and this mill is able to push out about 20.4 Kgm at a decent 1750 rpm. Now, that is pretty impressive, considering its only a 1.3L engine. Power wise, critics admit that an additional 10bhp to push it over the three digit figure of 100+bhp would have been nice, but the car must be test driven to check the handling and the power. The linea 1.3mjd comes with 90bhp being pushed out at about 4000rpm.

Interiors- the car now takes the interiors to a completely different level. It would appear as though this is the first car in its price bracket (expected to be about 8L) to come with rear vents and a sun screen for the rear windshield. The quality of plastics in the interior are a class apart, and the technology packed into the onboard computer makes it a car supercomputer. The Blue & Me technology co developed with Microsoft and Fiat allows for all windows based mobile phones to sync up to the car and be voice activated, thus allowing for a safer driving experience. The car also syncs with most phones featuring PDAs and allows for the phone book to be transferred to the car computer, thereby allowing the driver to control the phone book from the steering remote. The display screen niftily shows the fuel efficiency, CD track being played and name of the person calling, once all the features have been setup. Now- that’s pretty powerful.
The seating positions are pretty nice, except the initial feeling of lack of space is soon wiped away. The large windscreen gives one a commanding view and the height adjustable seat allows for drivers of most sizes to drive comfortably. The boot is HUGE to say the least and the nicest feature is that the hinges are attached to the body and not inside controlled pneumatically, thus allowing for greater loading space and better control.

The Linea comes with two engines ; the 1.3 mjd and the 1.4liter 8V Petrol. The petrol pushes out about 77ps at 6000rpm, thus on paper appearing to be a little underpowered, however, how it fares in the real world needs to be seen. The versions are the Active, Dynamic and Emotion. The Dynamic and Emotion come with Packs as well that has the Blue&Me and Airbags. However, all cars (Except Active) come with ABS, but lack EBD and Airbags can be added, thus increasing the safety ratings of these cars. Fiat is also putting in a lot in terms of product assurances, the standard warranty is 2 years and 80K kms and the extended is 4 years and 1.5L Kms. The Diesel mill is expected to have an oil change every 15K kms and parts for the car have already started coming in, thus spares shouldn’t be the bottleneck for this car.


Overall – the package appears to be good! However, if the performance lives up to the hype created and fiat is able to deliver on the service front, we might have a winner on our hands.

strikes and the economy

a strike is usually associated with trade unions- when they disagree with the owners on certain aspects. however, this has filtered its way into mainstream life with a strike being called from everything to anything.
there is a truck strike currently on.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/01/06/stories/2009010652150500.htm

"AIMTC, the body which had called the strike, claimed that the first day of the strike was successful. Spokesperson of AIMTC, Mr N.L. Gupta, said, “The first day of the strike call has been successful. In Maharashtra, eight lakh trucks went off the road, causing a loss of Rs 800 crore.”

How can you measure a sucessful strike with a loss of 800 crores in a single day? How different is this from stealing or from any other activity? Is Mr. Gupta happy with the fact that the economy and the truck drivers lost so much money?

I just don't get this logic. During an economic scenario like what exists currently, I really don't believe that calling strikes and causing more irreversible damage like this is going to help. I guess this is why no MNC is looking at india as a Manufacturing base- simply because the logistics is no match to China. and we have bodies such as the AIMTC helping justify the cause.

Bovine intervention - the year 2008

The year 2008 started on a rather sober note for me and my wife. our first new years as a married couple.. we went to bed at a glorious 11pm... so much for an exciting life!

As a new years resolution, i decided to very consciously cut down my non vegetarian intake - that included a multitude of critters (avian and mammal! :) )

it worked quite well for a long time, then i substituted my meat intake with other fatty foods and reduced it quite a bit.

Jan 2008- my first time as a track official at the JK Tyre national racing championships 2008.

February 2008 - i moved team in my company. It was a sad move - i really enjoyed my old team, the kind of work and the learnings. However, the new team had its own challenges and most importantly it was a different learning.


June - finally bought my cycle! :) yes! the trek 4300D.. i was lusting over it for a long time, and finally dcided to take the plunge and buy it. so that was and is the BIGGEST purchase for the year! however, the bike is worth every bit of the $560 odd i paid for it. Its such a pleasure to ride and miles get chomped off. I guess from the date of purchase till date - i have done over 1000kms (guestimate)

July4th - I cycled to work for the first time on a working day. I usually attempted the ride on a satuarday or a holiday.. it was nice .. and different. ever since then, i decided to start peddling to work every friday (we got to wear jeans on those days)

July 31st - my last day at Cognizant. As much as it was a different life, I did not think i would miss it. Yes, I did and do miss the comfort and safety net of a regular paying job. I finally was taking the plunge that i had always dreamed of doing. Starting up. I guess I must thank (at this point) all my friends, well wishers and managers at Cognizant who taught me a lot.

August 1st - Launch of Virtu Technologies ! Wow!

October 2008 - we finally get our accountant to do our billing - and guess what- we ARE profitable from the start. quite a nice feeling - being a scrooge helps!

november 2008 - still profitable .. sizeable client roster. lot of work keeping us busy.

December 2008 - our 3rd employee comes on board. nice feeling.

December 31st 2035 hrs - my first blog about the past year! :)

Lets see what 2009 holds.

the frustrations of tele marketing

one of the greatest inventions of time is email. simply because it helps spread the word! :)
now, almost everyone in india would have been besieged with calls from various banks offering "special" packages and the bells and whistles.

I got this forward, which had me laughing on the floor- and for Gunjan Agarwal - i do feel bad! :) but it was simply hillarious! :)

Enjoy!



Incase the above does not play - here is the link to the file:
http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/22768/Frustrations for telemarketing