Mother Nature

Rainfall in Pune. Thanks to the photographer for capturing this and to
Aniket Dighe for sharing it.
 

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

10 things to do when you are stuck in traffic at Powai

As I have mentioned in my earlier posts, I travel to work by road and
this route goes through Powai. Now Powai, apart from the IIT, Powai
lake and
Hiranandani, is also very well known for its infamous peak hour traffic. So, I
have come up with 10 things that you can do when you are stuck in
Powai (which you will be).
 
1. Take a walk. As Abhishek Bachchan says in the idea ads, walk when you
talk. Start walking by getting out of the car. If you are in the bus, walk
in the bus. There is nothing better than a morning walk surrounded by carbon
monoxide.
 
2. Interact with IITians. This is your chance to interact with the brightest
minds in the world! Just walk across the road and talk to any guy you meet
there. Strike up a conversation about the latest discovery in astro-physics
or the launch of the iPhone 3Gs. You can even walk when you talk! Don't
worry about your vehicle. It will still be there when you come back, and so
will all the other vehicles around it.
 
3. Shop! Yes, shop! There are many shops in the vicinity and they are eager
to sell. Finish your weekly shopping here so that you don't have to do it on
a Sunday. Imagine the sleep you will get on Sundays.
 
4. Sell! Let us take the previous suggestion to the next step. Get anything
that you think is clutter at your home and trade it for something else.
After all one man's garbage is another man's.....well, something. Now that
I think of this again, it is a brilliant idea! If this takes off, Powai will
become the biggest flea market in the world! Imagine the gadgets the IIT
guys would want to sell there! God I am brilliant!
 
5. Call the lost ones. Call all those people who you thought you never had
time to call. Call them and yell at them for not calling you all this while.
Listen to Aby Baby and walk when you talk. Basically get your social
quotient high.
 
6. Sleep. Catch up on your sleep. Nothing more needs to be said.
 
7. Boat ride. Go to the Powai lake and take a boat ride. This is excellent
exercise and will strengthen your back muscles and arms like nothing else.
Come on, so what if the water is dirty?
 
8. Read up. Buy 4 newspapers and read them cover to cover. Yes, it is
possible. Very much so! Moreover, this is bound to help you in the interview
you will soon be giving thanks to your late arrival at office everyday.
 
9. Talk to other drivers. So what if the car next to you is a cab? What is a
cab today can be a cute girl tomorrow. Get into the habit. Talk to the
driver next to you about everything except the traffic.
 
10. Blog. Just like I am doing :P

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

No break-away series!

So finally they have decided that they will not go ahead with the idea of having a break-away series (by they I mean the F1 teams).

As if we believed that there was ever going to be one! There is just TOO much money on the table!

It was a bluff and I don't know if Bernie bought it.

Atleast that is what I think.

Posted via web from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Domino's "crunchy" pizzas!

I once did a project which required me to classify the various pizza outlet in the city. Not surprisingly, Domino's was not only the most preferred outlet but also commanded the highest brand recall. All this thanks to the consistent marketing with catchy ads, smart promos and constant branding efforts. Of course apart from all this, it is the oldest pizza chain considering it was the first one to enter the market.

So, I too am a regular patron of Domino's and every time call in for delivery. Yesterday night however, all I had to get were two personal pizzas for my parents (don't ask) and quite understandably they would not have delivered it; after all it costs Rs. 35 per pizza. So off I went to the outlet (just 5 minutes walk from my place) to get the pizzas, with my sister for company.

I reached there, placed my order and paid the money, all I had to do now was wait for them to bake it and give it to me. It was nearing closing time and there was no one else at the outlet. But I don't think the time was the only reason for the deserted outlet. As I looked around the relatively spacious outlet (it could seat around 25 people), I saw hundreds of insects flying around. These were those huge flying ant thingies. And there were every size of them! Most of them were lying dead or unconscious on the floor; or maybe even sleeping after the long day of flying around in the outlet. It was freaky! Just the sheer number of them! They even had the blue-insect-zapping-light-thingy, but it sure didn't seem to work!

My sister had gone there once before with some of her friends and throughout their meal complained to the staff. But I guess those guys could not really speak bug language to tell them all to fly out. The point is, I am sure EVERYONE complains (you cannot miss it), and this being one of the few Domino's outlets which has seating capacity, should be more sensible! Heck, the seating capacity does not even matter!

I for one will now think twice before calling Domino's, and for sure watch out for the crunch in my pizza!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Wish I could work from the terrace

The weather has been absolutely brilliant for the past couple of days.
Today however, I think its the best! I am stuck in traffic right now
and dont mind it at all. Gives me more time in the open before we get
closeted in the incandescent closet of an office.
 
Wish I could work from the terrace!

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

CET final results out

Yes, they are out and the next batch of MMS students will now be working towards making their choices for the colleges.

Hope you make an informed choice and get what you deserve.

Here is a list of top ten colleges in MY opinion. This is my opinion only and it is meant only for guidance and not as any advice (not on my conscience will I take that).

1. JBIMS (No question about it)
2. K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research (SIMSR) (NOT because it is my college)
3. WE School (Welingkar)
4. Sydenham (Has lost its old charm)
5. N L Dalmia (One of the best for finance)
6. SIES (Was better than Dalmia a couple of years back)
7. MET (Trying to get there)
8. PUMBA (Strong alumni but no alumni network)
9. St. Xavier's Institute of Management Studies (Will climb this table soon)
10. IES/ Chetana (It becomes difficult to choose at this point)

All the best to everyone who is going to fill out their option forms soon.

P.S. I am an MMS student at SIMSR and this is my opinion and I don't expect anyone to agree with me.

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

What the hell is she smoking?!

I am talking about Anupam Ahuja, the loving and loyal wife of the Mr. I-had-sex-with-my-maid-but-with-her-consent Shiney Ahuja!

The maid says she is raped, Shiney says Shiney has not raped, the doctors say she has been raped and the wife says she is proud of Shiney! I mean, what the hell is she smoking?!

I can understand the frame up angle though. Here is what happened according to me. Wife and kid left the country, Shiney got lonely, realised Shiney has two maids, let the older one go home, asked the younger one for a favor, she consented (quite sure with protest however), she then thought she can get something out of this, Shiney threatened her, she went to the cops! I might be being unfair to the girl if she has been raped (and trust me I will hate myself if that is true), but this is what makes sense from all that has come out.

What however I cannot understand is, the wife saying she is proud of Shiney! I mean come on woman! Shiney has accepted that Shiney had sex with the maid and that does not make it right! It is still adultery! Shiney has ACCEPTED it! Or is THAT something you are proud of??

I think she took her wedding vows too seriously. Or maybe she is smoking something. Well in that case can someone tell me what the hell it is that she is smoking?!!

P.S. I have refused to use a pronoun for Shiney as I find the name too funny and love using it again and again :P

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

What the hell are we paying for?

I don't really get this, I pay Rs. 15 per month for ONE SINGLE channel Star Cricket!

The least I expect is a viewing experience that is unlike other channels which either come bundled with others or are absolutely free of cost! What I am actually getting is, more ADs than cricket, absolutely no air time for anything except the 6 balls per over, sometimes we miss the extra ball bowled due to a wide or a no-ball, miniature screens twice every over thanks to the ADs shown DURING the match and many more such atrocities!

It has been ages since I have seen the bowler run in on his first ball, the batsman taking guard, the captain and the bowler having a strategic chat and many many more such things that make watching cricket an enjoyable experience. With all the ADs during the telecast, the ADs between over and wickets and the banners after every four or six, they HAVE to be earning enough to earn a sizeable profit. But no, that is not enough! They want to charge every home 15 bucks too. Do they charge Reliance for 6 ADs and air only 5? Hell no! Then why do they charge us and show us substandard television? They have stopped showing replays after a wicket has fallen just so that they can squeeze in another AD! This is robbery! And every single channel does this!

I have always believed that every channel that gets revenues from advertisements should not charge viewers. What do you think?

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Best AD today!

via youtube.com

I don't think there is anyone who has not seen this AD. Not only is the concept brilliant, the execution is absolutely seamless. The actors don't have a hair out of place (pun intended).

Watch it again! Love it!

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

What an idea, lives again!!

I had posted about the first Abhishek Bachchan-idea ad about a month back.

Guess what? The ad lives again! All this time, idea has made a lot of ads depending on what was going on in the environment.

They had the democracy ad during the elections which was a good campaign. Then they had the IPL ad which they showed till yesterday. But starting today, they have started using the old ad again.

Are they reading my blog?

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

The View?

What were they thinking?

Why would anyone name a building 'The View'?

I saw this building at Powai, facing the Powai Lake. They could have so easily named it 'Lake View'. But I guess just as they were about to agree with that name, some guy said, "Wait a minute, there are many buildings facing the lake, so how can we name it Lake View? That is not an exclusive view for us! And it is also unfair to all those other buildings!"

Seriously! In my opinion, anything with the word 'view' on it sounds like a cliched name for a hotel in one of those touristy places. Would you live in a building like this?

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Jenson Button's shock loss on F1 Circuit in 2009

via youtube.com

Quite cool, ain't it?

Posted via web from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Real Madrid: New Adidas Jersey

via youtube.com

I like the new crest!

This is also the perfect way to make people buy new jerseys and not stick with the old ones. Anyways, with Kaka, Ronaldo and Villa coming in, a lot of new jerseys will have to be made.

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

Hala ........!

I have been actively hooked onto football for a really long time now. However, the first real tournament I followed was the 1998 World Cup. Just before this I was badly hooked to FIFA '98 which I still think is one of the best football games ever! We hardly used to get a lot of football on TV before that. After that I have watched every major tournament that has been aired all these years.

It was around the same time that I got a taste of club football. The Manchester Uniteds', the Barcelonas', the Juventus', Newcastle Uniteds' (yes it was awesome then), the Chelseas' (it quite sucked back then) of the world were all new and the fact that teams other than nations were playing was somewhat weird. The fact that not many people watched all this didn't help increase my knowledge (quite different from now ain't it?). But one team that somehow caught my fancy was Real Madrid Club de Futbol; it had just won the Champions League in 1998 (which I didn't even know existed), and would win it again in 2000 (which I DID watch). It's been 11 years, 3 World Cups, 3 European Championships, 11 Champions League, and 11 La Ligas of which I have watched all. The two teams I support, national and club, are Italy and Real Madrid. In these 11 years, Italy has won the World Cup in 2006 and reached the finals of the European Championship in 2000 losing to France in extra time. Real Madrid, has won the Champions League twice (not counting the 1998 season), been the La Liga champions 4 times and runners up 4 times; and I have watched every one of these.

It has been 11 years and I still love this club. Right when it was captained by Fernando Hierro with team mates like Raul, Roberto Carlos, Clarence Seedorf, Davor Suker, Fernando Morientes, Fernando Redondo and 17 year old called Iker Casillas; then captained by Raul and players like Carlos, Figo, Beckham, Casillas, Ronaldo, Owen (yes, Michael Owen) and the best ever - Zinedine Zidane; right upto now, still captained by Raul and supported by Casillas (who is still only 28 and the captain of Spain),  Van Nistelrooy, Cannavaro, Robben, Segio Ramos, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Pepe and the latest confirmed signing Kaka (don't want to comment on Ronaldo right now)!

It has not been the best of clubs to support for the only fact that you don't get many people on your side. You either like Real Madrid or you hate them and around here, people are too obsessed with watching the EPL (which in my opinion is only the second best league) to like Real Madrid. Yes, it does not have the best defence, it has never had, but this is not because they didn't have enough money to splurge on defence, but because investing in defence is not what Real Madrid does. They invest in attacking players who are magicians on the pitch, defenders have never been heroes in Madrid (apart from Casillas, who should be inducted in the Hall of Fame now itself). That is how they have always played and always will play.

Los Galacticos, Los Blancos, Los Merengues, Real, Madrid are all names they are known by. But their fans are only called Madridistas. I am one, and will be for a very long time.

Hala Madrid!

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

"Why am I here?"

This is a simple mantra that is going to change the way you attend every meeting and every conference for the rest of your life.

You probably don't have to be there. No gun held to your head, after all. So, why are you spending the time?

Do you have an agenda? It might be to change the agenda, or meet someone who will become a client or to learn something that will help you at work tomorrow.

Well, if that's why you're here, tell me again why you're just sitting there? If the only reason you came was to avoid the office, you need a new office. Quick, before the boss decides that for you.

Surely you have a question you can ask the speaker. Surely you have something interesting to say to the person sitting next to you. Surely you can do more than just sheepishly hand someone a business card they have no reason to save or remember or use.

If there isn't a good reason, go home. If there is, then do something. Loud, now and memorable. Productive too, please.

via sethgodin.typepad.com

Respect Seth!

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

To migraine or not to migraine

By now I am quite used to my migraine. I am suffering from it since the time I was 13. Which means I have had it for half my life!

As I have got older however, the frequency of my migraine bouts have pleasantly decreased. However, I now have one of the worst one ever. This one is now 2 days old and running!

The last time I had this kind of a headache was way back. Actually I don't quite remember the last time it was this bad. The worst part is I still had to go to work today (this being an internship) :-(

A lot of people have read a lot on migraines, and everyone knows that each person has a particular migraine trigger. Once you figure that out, you just need to stay away from yours. Unfortunately, I have not yet figured out mine. Chocolate and lack of sleep ranks as the most common triggers, but chocolate is not a trigger for me and lack of sleep is not a consitent problem. But it is surely one of my triggers.

The most common cure for a migraine is sleeping it off. I have gone through three sleep cycles in the past two days and still have come out on the other side with a painful head :-(

Well, all I can do now, is hope I wake up tomorrow morning having shaken off Mr. Migraine!

 

P.S. Yes, I agree the title is kinda stupid, but what do you expect to come out of a head that is experiencing constant hammering by little people for the past 48 hours?

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog

My Shiny new Phone!

Here it is! Finally! It has been almost three months since I lost my last phone - SE W350i. I have been using interim back up and borrowed phones till yesterday.

My interim phones have included my broken Nokia 6101, my cousin's Nokia 6610i and my dear friend Aviraj's Sony Ericsson Z550i. All of these are decent phones in their own rights, but they are not something one looks forward to using in the long term. You can see from the pictures below, the 6101 is just plain broken and takes two hands to handle it ever so delicately, the 6610i does not belong to me and has a broken panel with the plastic covering the display missing and finally the Z550i even though the latest and the youngest, had a battery life which made me think it is being run on two AA cells.

As you can see, all the phones I have owned have been quite varied. Especially in the looks department. These include my very first Nokia 7250i and my lost Sony Ericsson W350i, which incidentally was the one I loved the most! Ironically, that is the only phone I don't have in possession and so have to use a stock image from the net. You can notice, that I have tried to move away from the ubiquitous black candy-bar phone. I have had a purple, a white, a silver and an orange phone. However, the color I always wanted was either red or yellow. So not surprisingly, my new phone is a shiny red one! And I have a feeling it is going to replace the W350i for me. It is quite similar in terms of functions and another reason being this is another phone I have bought for myself using my own hard earned money.

Basically I think this is a brilliant phone. It has everything one wants from a phone that retails around INR 6K and then some more. I have been loving it for the past two days. And I pray I don't lose this one!

BTW, which among my phones below is the one you like the most?

See and download the full gallery on posterous

(download)

Click here to download:

Nokia_5130_3D.swf (653 KB)

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Analysing the voter turnout

 A lot has been said about the sad voter turnout throughout the country. But has anybody analysed the reason?

Here is one of the analysis I read in The Economic Times yesterday :-)

Ten reasons why South Mumbai did not vote

10. Clashed with Salsa class

9. Election whites not drycleaned

8. No candidate a hottie

7. Tony Jethmalani contesting from suburbs. Sigh

6. No valet parking at booth

5. Spotted servant in queue ahead of us

4. Driver not come

3. Elections over dude, Obama won!

2. No party tackling real issues, eg, reduce Gold Gym rates

1. No home delivery!

 

Why Delhi turned up to vote

1. They loved the Tata Tea ad

2. They saw the Chopras go out, and thought they must overtake the Lancer from left

3. Bunty’s girlfriend wanted to when they were going out for some Chinese

4. Diwan Saheb on second floor persuaded them. He is jaaaint saactry in DPCC

5. Without stable government, real estate will not revive

6. Election Commission directly asked Pappu. So nice of them

7. Grandfather started talking on Partition, and they had to run

8. Auntyji hoped some TV crew will come and take a soundbite

9.Baba Ramdev said it is good for health

And finally, 10. They had to beat the Bambaiyaas. Izzat ka sawaal hai, hainji?

Posted via web from Aditya's Blog