I am Thinking...

Absolutely Delicious Football!

Sigh!

Ok, I agree this is not the best you might have seen, but you have to see how Madrid has been playing this entire half-season to know what I am talking about.

Hala Madrid!

Wednesday 15 December, 2010

All Star!

Check out the Converse!

P.S. It also reminds me of a certain Super Model friend I know. ;-)

All Star!

Check out the Converse!

P.S. It also reminds me of a certain Super Model friend I know. ;-)

Saturday 4 December, 2010

Today I read this article by Gabe Lezra on Bleacher Report about Madrid's Clasico defeat. I agree with every word of it, right from the emotion a Madridista goes through to his feelings about the current squad and their chances. It is a must read for every Madridista.

Monday 1 November, 2010

The Biggest Show in Town - Barack Obama

via blog.achint.net

Hat-tip: Achint Parekh

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Monday 18 October, 2010

Mera number....

Well, I have never really looked forward to go to weddings. I always find it to be a noisy, overcrowded, loud for every other sensory organ and most people who are there for the food rather than to 'bless' the happy couple. Except, when it is a wedding in the family. That I liked.

Yes, I said 'liked'. Every wedding in the family was all of the above as well. But considering it being a South Indian family, the food was the type I could not go wrong with, noise was in a language I mostly understood and there was considerably less 'bling' to spare my eyes the torture. Also, it was a genuinely happy occasion to meet most of my relatives who would come from far off lands (well, mostly all of them come from Hyderabad, but its still not close by). It was good to catch up, see who has grown out of pre-school to school and so on and so forth. It was funny when people used to explain at the magical effect of time and age on me and exclaim at how I have become older in spite of the fact that everything around them has refused to change. All of this was good. It WAS. Not anymore.

It is not that I dislike all of the above now. It is not that the food has become boring or that the people have become inhospitable. What has happened however, is that the miracle of aging has gone on for too long now. Apparently it is time for me to be sitting at one place and stare into the fire while others try to wonder what time lunch will be served. It is about time that I get hitched. And I can't say I am surprised. I am surprised however that it has taken them so long to start the discussions. Considering that all of my cousins close to my age (none older than me though) are already married. And also the little matter of being 28.

Today I had to attend another of my cousin's wedding. The irony is you can't really miss these weddings. Once I am there however, I try to steer yourself away from all the women after saying a customary hello. I know that if I stick around a minute more than it actually takes to say the usual pleasantries, and WHAM! They will hit me with the question. With a sheepish smile on the face, which is out of genuine concern but still bordering on looking like a triumphant glee at being able to corner me, they ask 'So when is your turn aye?' I am amazed at how many people can ask this same question but still get the same reaction out of me every single time. It seems to be a question for which there can be no adequate amount of preparation. There cannot be an answer to it. It is for sure a rhetorical question one would think. Yet, every questioner does not merely ask the question and move on to some other topic of equal irrelevance as one should do once questions of rhetorical nature are put forth, they pause and just look at my face. Either out of sheer sadistic joy of looking at the myriad of expressions mirroring my unique state of mind or out of genuine expectations to get an equally genuine answer. How can I answer? WHAT can I answer? Am I supposed to give a date? Every other answer apart from a date would just draw a look of disappointment making me look like a blasphemous soul.

As of now, I am not sure what sort of feelings I should have for the following fact. The next wedding in the family would most probably be mine considering the next eligible bachelor/bachelorette is at least four years younger to me. This pleasantly assures me that I do not have to prepare answers to the above mentioned question. But it brings about another feeling. It is the same feeling that Neo had when he finally realised he was 'The One'. It meant that everyone would stop asking him if he really was 'The One', but it also meant that he would eventually and inevitable die trying to save the world. (I am only talking about the feeling he has on realisation, not the dieing part, no, that would not be prudent.)

Anyhow, I finally cast aside my miseries and bless and wish the newly married couple (Jyothy and Murali), a very happy and successful life ahead :)

Enjoy the pictures!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Tuesday 12 October, 2010

Kindle 3 Screenshots

These are screenshots that have been taken from my Kindle by pressing [Shift] + [Alt] + [G].

The screen is exactly like this.

Wednesday 22 September, 2010

Kindle shipment update 2

It has been more than twenty days since I got my shipment and I was still wondering how much I had to end up paying for Customs here in India. I finally decided to call up the DHL office and asked them how much I had to pay. So here is how much my Kindle finally worked out to:

Kindle 3: 6,500

Shipping: 1,000 (it took less than 3 days from dispatch to delivery)

Customs: 2,160

Total: 9,660

The figures above are in approximate INR.

I know this is high (the customs almost killed me) and could have been just below 7,000 had someone got it along for me. But I do not mind paying a premium for getting it two months or more early had I depended on someone else. And anyway it is still much cheaper than any other e-reader available in India. And undoubtedly the best there is.

Tuesday 21 September, 2010

Kindle Update 3

It has been a little more than 3 weeks now that I have been using my Kindle 3 and I have loved every day of it! It is an absolute joy to read a book and seamlessly got to another one once I done with it or if I just need a change from a certain book. The best part is, it fits right into my trouser pocket. This helps a lot while travelling in the Mumbai trains and buses as I don't need to put it back in my bag everytime.

I have been able to use most of the feature till now except the music player. But this only shows that the quality of the reader is so good that I don't really care about the music that much. I have my cell phone for that. I have been using Calibre as my ebook management software. It has worked like a charm all this while. It has helped me tag and sort all my ebooks. It also converts all my ebooks (except PDF) into the format which Kindle would understand. PDFs have to be copied as is and are also read as is. The best feature however by a country mile for me is its ability to download feeds from news sites and compile them into an ebook format with a table of contents! This I have configured to be mailed directly from Calibre to my kindle email id, which automatically converts them into the .AZW format. These books are then put into my archives and downloaded the next time I connect via WiFi. This email conversion feature is however chargeable if you have bought a 3G Kindle.

The browser is something that I have been asked about by a few people. The Webkit browser is pretty cool in its basic abilities. It is however a little cumbersome to do anything more than read on it. So you can read your mails and login to your facebook/twitter accounts to read updates and maybe tweet a little. Reading blogs is easy with the 'Article Mode' feature enabled. It clips the blogs by removing side images and making it easy to read. But anything other than black text again becomes a little difficult to read. Apart from this, the best idea is to browse mobile avatars of traditional sites (like m.gmail.com) and they would be a breeze to read. But I would discourage anyone who wants to buy this based on the ability to browse. It is a workable feature but not robust enough to be a selling point yet. Buy it for its ability to be the best at being an ebook reader.

I have not heard from Amazon yet about my customs refund and hence have no update on that.

To sum it up, I am more than happy about my Kindle. What I do not like that much is the stares I get when I am reading in public. What I hate more is the number of people who stop me from reading by asking me questions about the thing I am holding in my hand. I would really recommend everyone to buy a cover if you can afford it. I did not and am going to buy one soon. I doubt I would get one locally for the Kindle 3. This surely makes people believe that you are reading a regular book and not staring at what appears to be a slate!

Please do leave comments if you are planning to buy a Kindle here in India and I will try and answer as best as possible.

P.S. I will try and post a few screenshots of the Kindle in my next post.

8 months

He labors to wear those clothes again. He has already had a long day. This is not the day to start. Not today. Can he not wait one more day? No, he hears. He has waited enough already.

He tries to remember the path he used to take. It has been eight months after all. He tries to remember the distance that he had measured, the milestones that he had placed in his mind. None of them come back. It is all a blur.

He puts the earphones in his ear and tries to find the correct playlist. He has been walking till now, trying to stretch as much as possible, preparing his muscles for the assault that is coming their way. It has been eight months after all.

As the music starts, he pushes himself to a jog. His feet pound the weathered road; trying to match the rhythm playing in his ears. His breathes gets shorter. He has forgotten how long he can keep running without slowing down to a walk. He keeps running.

As the songs pick up rhythm, he tries his best to match it. His lungs are trying to crack his ribs. He feels like there is only hot air around. It has been eight months after all. He feels a sense of euphoria as he crosses familiar terrain with every step.

After a point walking hurts more than moving faster. So he keeps moving. As he reaches closer to his destination, his body finally remembers what it had gone through eight months back. This is just the beginning, it is reassured. He stops short of feeling agony. Making sure he does not over spend. The last song sends a surge of adrenalin through his blood as he starts sprinting. Soon, the adrenalin turns into endorphins. Happy. It has been eight months after all.

Sunday 12 September, 2010

That day...

I wake up at 9 AM. I am already late. Try to set a new record in getting ready. Trying to beat the record I set yesterday.

I am ready. It is 9.30 AM. The professor would be getting ready to enter the class now, as I leave my home and run towards my bike.

I try to find the shortest and straightest route possible. Quite difficult considering the route I take everyday really is the shortest and the straightest.

I keep looking at the time on my bike's display, by now knowing which part of my journey cost me a minute and which part saved me one. I reach the campus and park my bike; wishing the parking was right outside my class!

I take an entire 2 minutes to decide if it is appropriate to enter or not. A couple more come along who believe it is their right to enter regardless. So I try to blend in and slyly make my way to the nearest vacant seat. The class ends.

I go near the canteen and try to spot as many people I know as possible. I know this is going to end soon. I go up to the third floor and enter my workplace. I go back down and attend more classes.

Once classes end, I go to work. Try to do what is possible, with my friends, right there in that room. We fight, yell, scream, laugh and play catch.

The sun changes color and the sky disappears soon after. I am still there. We are still there. I go back down, meet more people. Try to find out who is going where for dinner. Make a decision based on what combination of people and food suit me the most that day and tag along. It has normally got more to do with people.

With tummy half-full, I come back with them to the hostel. Stay till we hear the guard whistle. Say our byes and start walking in opposite directions.

As I make that lonesome walk, to where my bike is parked, all I think of is that I will soon not be lucky enough to say goodbye to friends everyday. Hop on my bike and take a relatively leisurely ride home.

Reach home and fill up my tummy. Switch on my laptop and see all my friends yet again. All of them present, as mere names on my screen. All I think of is that I will soon not be lucky enough to see this screen full of friends again.

It is now 3.30 AM. I blink off to sleep, knowing very well that I have to set new records once I wake up.

That day........was everyday.

Sunday 5 September, 2010

Kindle Update 2

Now that I have been using my Kindle 3 for 5 days, I thought maybe I should stop obsessing over it for a while and write a small review about how she has been behaving until now.

The thing is, I really love reading. That is the reason why I doubt I will even dislike a product like this. It is a pleasure to have something like this in my bag all the time. I am currently reading 4 different books at the same time and I also read my newspapers everyday on my Kindle (more on this later).

You can read all the reviews on the net and they will all tell you that the display is as close to paper as possible (I think its better). They will tell you that it is extremely light and handy. It really is all of this and more. I like reading on it in the train or in the bus or on my bed.

Coming to a couple of issues I have faced. There was an occasion when the battery that usually lasts one month went from 70% to empty in a matter of hours without me even using it. For this I blame the indexing. I had loaded about 300 books at the same time and that was a mistake. It uses a lot of resources to index every book and all the words so that it can give instantaneous search results. The second issue is that of freezing and restarting. This has been faced by other users as well and it has been credited to a bug in the firmware. Amazon has confirmed that they are working on it and will deploy a software update in the next ten days. This issue comes up only when the processor is over loaded with indexing or heavy browsing or too many PDFs. These issues should be fixed in the next update. Till then I shall go light on my Kindle and make sure I do not overburden it with too much work. These teething problems are bound to occur with new launches or new versions. It balances out the satisfaction you get out of buying something before most other people do. Do I care? No.

Death on the Social Network

via holykaw.alltop.com

This was something I always wondered. What happens to your profile after you die?

Tuesday 31 August, 2010

Kindle Update and Review

Well, I know this is a little late, but if you would have read my Facebook status you would have been informed that I successfully received my Kindle 3 - WiFi (Graphite) yesterday. The Blue Dart guys, who deliver for DHL here in India delivered it yesterday evening.

Firstly, I do not think there was any customs paid on it as there was no sticker on it from the customs guys. However, I did have to pay INR 474 as octroi on it (they did give me a receipt for this). I should have thought of this earlier and got it shipped to a Mumbai address itself. Stupid mistake!

Moving on, the packing was quite satisfactory, though I kinda expected a little more fanfare than a just a DHL cardboard box protecting my dear Eleanor inside it. But, I guess it works. This also negated the sense of occasion for me. So as I was trying to rip out the outer package expecting to find a box with 'Kindle 3 - Your smartest choice' or something to that effect written on it, I just stumbled onto the device itself. Took me off-guard for a moment. But there it was!

It looked quite meek actually. With what looked like a sticker on it telling me to plug it in for charging. I realised that it was not really a sticker but the e-ink display playing tricks on my eyes. It vanished once I plugged it to my laptop and gave way to another sticker like display telling me that it was charging and I can also transfer books if I would like to so much. I cannot possibly exaggerate on how small this thing actually is! It is superbly handy. In fact, even though it is the lightest Kindle ever, it actually feels heavy for something that size in your hand. I say hand and not hands because you will feel weird holding it in BOTH hands at the same time. It is THAT small!

I had been working on my resident ebook collection with Calibre and had meticulously tagged them and sorted out the Author's names in correct order and all that so that I am good to go ASAP. So I selected all the books I wanted and clicked on 'Send to device'. Another mistake. Kindle 2 and 3 give you the advantage of sorting your books in what are called 'Collections'. Collections are to Kindle what Labels are to Gmail. So you can have all your books in multiple Collections and it makes it easier for you to get to them. Ideally you should create the Collections first and then add books to each of them. I ended up adding some 200 books first and then sorting them in Collections on my Kindle. Not very convenient. Once the books were loaded, it was pretty simple to open them and extremely pleasurable to read them. Mission accomplished!

I also tested the browser with my home WiFi connection and it worked quite well. It is weird to see Gmail and Facebook on a 6" black and white screen, but it works. I would not however for a moment suggest that one can this for idle browsing (if anyone is thinking of Kindle 3G). It is quite a strain. Wikipedia is however quite nice!

All in all, I am totally happy about my purchase and would not flinch before recommending this to others who love to read. It is a brilliant invention!

Monday 30 August, 2010

Kindle shipment update

I am really happy by how closer to me Eleanor (my Kindle) is getting everyday. Amazon has shipped it using DHL and given me a tracking number as usual. I have never got anything shipped from the US before and I am fascinated by the updates that it is giving me. It took about 24 hours for it to reach from the West Coast to the East Cost. Now in less than 24 hours it has not only reached London, but also began its journey towards home! It is already in the air having left Heathrow airport and I assume will be taken out and scanned at the Mumbai airport in the next 24 hours. So I assume it should be in my hands by 2nd of September (as Amazon estimated) or before that depending on the efficiency with which our Custom officials work.

Speaking about customs, I know I will have to pay the duty to get it shipped from the US direct. However, inspite of the fact that I declared myself as un-Indian for doing that, I could not refrain from trying to find a loophole. Customs rules say, that if you are getting an electronic item shipped in, you have to pay duty on it. However, if that shipment is a gift that you are receiving, the value of which is below INR 10,000, then it is exempt from duty. I have got it shipped from Amazon as a gift. So it will be marked as a gift, but the value would still be printed on the box. The value being USD 139 which works out to around INR 6,512. The problem with this is, the billing and the shipping address both are mine. This might work against me. It would be better to give a local billing address, which I could have easily done. I shall however find this out in a couple of days time when the local DHL/Blue Dart guys give me my package and the duty receipt along with it.

Note: Amazon charges Import Fees Deposit for anything that it ships abroad. I was charged USD 56.34 over and above the Priority Shipping charge of USD 20.98 (which I think is not that high). They will then pay the duty on your behalf and credit back the amount that is left over. It saves you the hassle of dealing with the Customs guys directly (which however also negates the possibility of you evading the duty altogether by greasing a couple of palms).

Sunday 29 August, 2010

She has been shipped!

Oh yes! Eleanor has been shipped already! When I ordered my Kindle 3 on 2nd of August, I was told that their order books are full and my shipment will be released on or before 4th September! But trust Amazon to delight their customer! They shipped my order on 27th of August - their original launch date.

I can track my order every step of its way. And I am told I will receive it on 2nd of September. But I am sure that is a conservative estimate from their side :)

Thursday 26 August, 2010

The saga of my quest for my fabled device

The saga started over a month ago. Actually, the planning started over a few months ago! I was really quite keen on buying an e-reader. I really like reading and I really love gadgets. What better way to combine the two eh?

Initially I was looking at the Infibeam Pi, which seemed pretty convenient considering it was sold by an Indian company with local warranty. It is quite neat too, as it read all possible formats and had the same standard 6" E-Ink display that e-readers the world over have. Of course, this e-reader was manufactured in China along with 95% of the others. I still think it is a decent device that does the trick. However, I was still in college and had to get one of those job things first to help me pay for the device which is worth 10K. (Yup, this is quite steep)

Eventually I got myself a decent job and decided it was time to splurge a little of the not- so-hard-earned money. When the time came to order, I could not! I could not order the Pi, knowing very well that there are at least ten other devices which do the job better and are cheaper! The problem was, however, that all of the above-mentioned ten devices were in the land of the free and the home of the brave! Getting it here would be a problem. This made me do what every Indian does. Ask around to find out if anyone I remotely know is flying down from the US in the near future (this, I thought was my true 'Aha' moment). It became a totally 'Whoa Baby' moment when I got the results of my social networking-based research. I suddenly knew of the existence of 5 (separate) people who were flying down from within a week to Christmas.

What did I do? What would any self-respecting Indian do? I went for the one coming down the earliest. Yes, I had never met her, but she was one of my friend’s mom. I mean, what else are friend's moms for anyway? I went on a rampage to find out which was the best e-reader in the world for use in this part of the world. I drew up spreadsheets and elaborate comparison charts showing me comparative 'page turn rates'. After wasting more tree-burning electricity in research than the amount my ban on paperbacks can save, I finally ordered the Nook (with Express Shipping and a Canvas Cover). It was now in the capable hands of the boys at UPS to ship it within 4 days so that my friend's mom can smuggle it in. Alas! Not so capable after all. It never left their warehouse and I ended up cancelling my Nook and my dreams along with it. There went my fantasy of holding Eleanor (ahem, yes, I had given her a name) in my hand and reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I would now have to wait for two months more for yet another smuggler to leave those shores.

But I have not called this story a saga just for dramatic affect. The day after I cancelled my Nook, fate (also called as Amazon) gave the world the brand new Kindle 3! It was 'lighter, slimmer, brighter, faster, double the storage with improved battery life AND cheaper'. How could I NOT buy it? I punched the air in zest and clicked the mouse in quest. Quest for the 'All new Kindle 3 (Black)'. I obviously became un-Indian quite fast and asked it to be shipped directly to India. Yes, all of you who are shaking your heads, I decided to pay Customs on it. I just could not wait anymore. But there was another twist. I had clicked my above mentioned mouse on 2nd August and the 'All new Kindle 3 (Black)' was to launch on the 27th. By the time I clicked, mine was to be shipped by 4th September. So I had to wait anyway. Well, so I waited! An entire month and 2 days! Paid with my Credit Card, which was not charged as I they would still allow me to cancel my order. (Meanwhile, the often mentioned and thanked friend's mom decided to wait another week and leave later. Is this story right out of the theme park or what? I swear no one can just make this up.)

So I still await Eleanor. Today, on 26th, Amazon has already charged my card and has told me that my order is being prepared for shipment. It is quite surprising as there is still a week more to go. They have already started

shipping two days before the scheduled date of 27th (compared to this, Infibeam delayed the launch of its own version of the iPad - 'Phi' - by a month).

This is where my saga has reached. I shall update you further once Eleanor is shipped whether you want me to or not. And then once I have it with me. And then once I open it. And then once I start using it. Basically, you will hear a lot about Eleanor.

Monday 2 August, 2010

Hans Zimmer - Dark Knight Live

via hans-zimmer.com

I LOVE this movie! It is very hard for me to choose between this and Inception. Apart from Nolan, the other obviously common string between the two is the background score by Hans Zimmer. Here goes for all the Dark Knight fans!

Saturday 31 July, 2010

Inception + Up! trailers mashup

The credit to the link AND the line below goes to my friend Aviraj Saluja.

Holy mother of EPICNESS!!

Monday 26 July, 2010

Eleanor

Eleanor (pronounced /ˈɛlɛnər/, except in North America where it is usually /ˈɛlənɔr/; also spelled as Elinor, Elenor, Eleanore, or Elynor) is a female given name.

The first known bearer of the name was Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was named after her mother, Aénor de Châtellerault, and called Aliénor, (from Alia-Aénor), which means other-Aénor in Occitan).^{[citation needed]} It became "Eléanor" in the northern Langue d'oïl and in English. Therefore the meaning of the name is sometimes given as "The Other." Aénor is a Provençal name whose meaning is not surely known, maybe coming from Latin lenire ("to heal"). In English the name is sometimes connected to Elena, Ellen or Elaine (Helen, Helene) as well. It could be connected to the Greek eleos ("compassion") as well. There is however an earlier Eleanor on record. Eleanor of Normandy, William the Conqueror's aunt, lived a century earlier than Eleanor of Aquitaine. The story of her might be apocryphal.

Cognates of the name in different languages include Leonor (Portuguese pronunciation: [le.o.ˈnoɾ])(Spanish and Portuguese), Eléonore (French), and Eleonora (Italian). The similar Hebrew name Elior means "God is light".^[1] The similar-sounding Arabic Allahu Nuri also means "God is my light"; the modern version is Nurullah (Noorullah) ("light of God").

via en.wikipedia.org

Thursday 15 July, 2010

La Liga on Ten Sports!

I do not know if this video makes any sense to you. But this is the most awesome piece of news for me right now! :)

Actually you can check this link out for background check http://adityakandala.com/no-la-liga-broadcast-in-india

Wednesday 14 July, 2010

Sales 'Train'ee

Its been a long time since I have blogged about marketing or sales. Its been a long time since I have blogged actually. But something happened today which must be shared.

Most of you by now know that I am currently working with HCL Comnet as an Account Manager in the India Sales division. Being practically 'in training' for the past month and half, my eyes and ears are beginning to get attuned towards anything sales. Being a resident of Thane as I have often mentioned in my earlier posts, any place else in Mumbai is far away. Today I chose to come back home by train having had enough of traffic on the road.

I am predominantly a train traveler and would prefer trains over buses anytime. Most of you who have traveled in the Mumbai local trains - otherwise called 'locals' - would be aware of the frequently annoying salesmen who travel along. Selling everything from pens to pens that are torches. Anything you buy normally costs 10 bucks. They come with loud noises making limericks and poems which makes you feel you would be robbing HIM if you buy his product for only 10 bucks!

However, today I saw a very different kind of salesman in the train. He boarded the compartment at the peak hour of 9 PM and stood in the most crowded part between the seats. Standing there, he started talking as if he was talking to his friends. It felt like he was giving a discourse! Extremely calm and extremely patient. He started explaining home remedies for common ailments that anyone in a family can suffer with. For some time I could not understand what this man who has the attention of everyone who can see him is trying to sell. His way of explaining was unique and his concern for the well being of my family seemed quite genuine. Finally, after almost 15 minutes of his well practiced and articulated speech, he started talking about a book which has everything he just spoke about and more! And guess what the price of the book was!

This guy according to me is brilliant! He came in calmly with a product which would be difficult to sell by just yelling out to everyone who does not want to hear. He surprised everyone by calmly talking about problems that everyone has had. So much so that people were leaning in to listen to him! In the end he sold 9 copies, made 90 bucks in 20 minutes and moved to another part of the compartment.

This guy:

Knew the problems you have
Knew how to tell you about those problems
Had simple solutions to those problems
It was cheap
He made sure you noticed it was cheap. After all you spend 2 bucks a day on news, why not spend 10 for your family (says he, not me)

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Sunday 11 July, 2010

SIMSR through my phone

Yes, I know I have not really taken a LOT of pictures. But WTH!

Saturday 10 July, 2010

Sexiest World Cup final ever? Ahem!

via holykaw.alltop.com

The damned octopus!

via reflectionof.me

Go Spain!! :)

Tuesday 29 June, 2010

I wish I was a....

Remember all the essays we used to write back in school? I am talking about the ones in Hindi or Marathi. The autobiographies.

No no, these were not autobiographies of famous people. Far from it! These were autobiographies of objects. Inanimate ones. I think it was a brilliant way to test our imagination and the extent to which we can push our vocabulary. After all we pretended to be an umbrella, a coin, a worn out shoe, a torn note and many more things. However, most of us just read a bunch of these from books and reproduced them in the papers. I guess it did help somehow nevertheless.

Moving on, I am all of a sudden got this urge to write those kinds of essays again. Obviously it has a lot to do with my curiosity. And this time it will not be like a day in the life of a coin or a shoe. It will be about how I wish I was a coin or a shoe and why. So from now on I will be writing some of these posts. Let me see where this leads me to.

Wednesday 9 June, 2010

10 things about the Delhi Metro

If some of you do not know yet, I am in Noida right now for the foreseeable future. So, being here for a week now, I have been finally able to get an internet connection and I have been itching to blog!

Here are 10 things that I thought of about the Delhi Metro.

It is awesome! It really feels great to be in it. It is quite an experience when you get into it for the first time.
It is Air Conditioned! This definitely a boon anywhere in India. More so in Delhi! They have somehow managed to keep the inside of the trains at quite a cool temperature in spite of the 45 degrees outside!
It is really affordable! It has to be. But for an air conditioned transport it is surprisingly so. The distance which will cost you Rs. 5 in the Mumbai local train costs just Rs. 10 here. No wonder no metro transport anywhere in the world has been profitable. Neither will this be, otherwise it wont be affordable.
Fully loaded! With all the jazz of escelators and automatic ticket entry and announcements in the train regarding which side the station will come (this kinda gets irritating sometime). All of this is great though.
It is an equalizer. Where else will a businessman and a normal worker get into the same train using the same facilities and sitting in air conditioned comfort? No matter who you are, no second class or first class here!
It is awesomely maintained! Everything looks clean. Minimum littering. Constant cleaning. Helpful staff. Great!
It has some weird stickers. I saw one which wanted to say that this seat is reserved for pregnant woman. So it has a 3 figures. One was the pregnant woman, second was a man giving the seat to the shown woman. The third was what bothered me a little. A small boy holding the woman's hand. Why show a boy? Why show a second kid? Errrr, family planning?
The entire system looks great from the outside. I mean beautiful! The steel cars with lighted windows whizzing overhead every 5 minutes! Then going underground. Some places have two levels of stations underground! The huge stations above the roads. I like it!
I have absolutely no idea how the people living in the national capital managed to commute in the city before 2002! Absolutely sad!
I love it! Just like I was in love with The Linker, I am in love with the Metro as well. It represents the same things for me that The Linker does. I cannot wait for the Mumbai Metro to be up and running!

Monday 17 May, 2010

Seth's Blog: The circles (no more strangers)

via sethgodin.typepad.com

Sometimes I LOVE the way Seth Godin puts things across. Most of the things he blogs about are not at all path-breaking. It just can't be considering he averages more than one post a day! But just the way he puts across things that are taken for granted is what he is all about. You should read this post if you are remotely attached to marketing or sales.

Sunday 16 May, 2010

Pit Stop with Force India F1

Posted via web from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Saturday 15 May, 2010

The Google Job Experiment

Respect dude!

Friday 14 May, 2010

Guys are always....

via random.aviraj.com

Friday 7 May, 2010

How cool is HE?

via bspcn.com

Ok ok! I know you are laughing! But let us give this guy a chance at the least!

After all, he knows 15 guitar chords and has blue ray's something in his big TV! How often do you come across 100% real guys who have never gone to jail? I surely cannot think of anyone!

Oh, did I mention he shook Obama's hand on TWO occasions? Now how cool IS he?