Dostana – Loads of hype…

Well well.. I watched Dostana y`day. To rate it, I would say maybe around 2.5/5.

And about how the movie is? Well, Shilpa and Priyanka look a million bucks… Apart from that.. its an overdose of stupid gay jokes. Towards the end of the movie, it gets tiring.. You are almost thinking, not again… not another one of these gay jokes. Sure, there are some original jokes; for example, the one where Kiron Kher asks John to make sure he keeps karwachauth. But otherwise most of the jokes seem to be lifted straight out of some of the english movies.

The movie clearly lacks a story line… Its worked only because of ambush marketing tactics… My say, not worth it…

Global Dollar Imbalance

Following is a video by an economist on the global dollar imbalance..

View it to understand or believe it or both...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4343898391323537541&hl=en

The greatest villain in Mahabharat or .. was he not?

Few weeks back, I came across the Economic Times supplement, Corporate Dossier. This usually carries an article by Dr. Devdutt Patnaik. Its called Management Mythos.
Its one of the most interesting columns to read, specifically because how he weaves different story lines into the present world context. Its pretty much about how we could look to our rich mythology for inspiration.
Well, for the title of this blog, it is to share a story which I learnt recently courtesy, Dr. Devdutt Patnaik.

One of the most hated characters in Mahabharat is the maternal uncle of the Kauravas, Shakuni. He is the one who instigates Duryodhana, and keeps influencing his decisions in a way that he was meant to doom!!! Why??
The reason could possibly be in a small story which is told in some parts of Andhra Pradesh. It goes something like this.
Before Gandhari was be married to Dhritharashtra, she was married to a sacrificial goat, so as to avert some calamity. Of course the goat was sacrificed promptly. This was supposed to be a secret. However, elders in the Kaurava clan got to know about this information. So as to avoid any scandal they put the entire family of Gandhari, except Gandhari under house arrest. Under house arrest, they were served food which would be barely sufficient to sustain a single individual. Shakuni was the youngest of this family which was under house arrest. The head of the family realizing that this was a ploy to get them all killed, made sure that Shakuni got all the food that was being given. Eventually the entire family under house arrest, except Shakuni dies. This is where Shakuni uses the bones of his father and brothers to make the enchanted dice, and swears that he would destroy the entire Kaurava clan. This dice is what he eventually uses to defeat the Pandavas in a gambling contest. If you look at this fable, it portrays Shakuni as an avenging angel, as compared to what we generally perceive him.

This is one of the many stories which Dr.Devdutt Patnaik puts across in many of his columns he writes for.

You can check out his website, which has a lot of other such snippets.
http://www.devdutt.com/

The Anti Java Professor

This is what I came across as a blog link when searching for some data..

Its pretty interesting ...

http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/entdev/article.php/3761921/The+Anti-Java+Professor+and+the+Jobless+Programmers.htm

Its similar to what we observe when interviewing candidates... And I felt that this was just a localized phenomenon.

iPhone... worth it???

Following is an analysis on the iPhone phenomenon, done by a person I know. The views are entirely his own and not mine. For his credibility, I would say that he works in the mobile phone development industry and of course needless to say that he doesnt work for Apple...
Here we go....
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Friends .....those of you in India planning for iPhone... THINK TWICE BEFORE MAKING A DECISION... The short comings of iPhone are endless...No video calling,no AD2P on the Bluetooth,CAN'T share ANY (mp3, images,videos....) files via bluetooth, can't use as a wireless modem, (you pay ridiculous data charges to activate internet on your phone, but cannot connect it to your PC and browse when you are at home) no copy and paste,(cannot copy a part of a.... say.... email & send it....have to type it out yourself)no 3.2 or 5 megapixel camera,(the 2MP camera it carries is worst camera i've ever seen..... photos look like they have come out of a VGA camera) no video recording with camera,no front camera,no flash.no JAVA supportNo physical keyboard (BELIEVE me! this alone is a dealbreaker...touch keyboard as good as it looks...once you use it then only you come to know about the importance of having a hard keypad)No 3G network yet in India..so why pay for expensive 3G phone if you cant use its 3G services ... so, for India, iPhone 2.0 is no better than its first versionNo removable battery. (You cannot change battery. Have to send it to apple outlet.. Come on now!!!!...This is not an iPod. Its a bloody phone. You cannot live without phone for 2-3 days) No haptic feedback andcannot send MMS,can't use as external storage device (16 GB of utter waste..next time you go to your friend's house & find some interesting songs, movies, etc...sorry you cannot connect your '16 GB' phone and share it!!!! Apple apparently has a solution.. " BUY MUSIC & MOVIES FROM iTUNES STORE "..... Give me a break will you APPLE!!!)no FM radio,can't use your mp3 files as ringtones,(This is heights man!!!) cannot insert any other SIM card….completely tied to iTunes... Connect to your friend's iTunes & you risk erasing everything on your phone.list goes on & on & on….We Indians are used to these features. Most of our phones already have these features. & we cannot do with out them.... i mean can you imagine paying so much for a phone with which you cannot transfer files via bluetooth. what age is this ...STONE AGE??? Some features may be activated by jailbreak.. But why the hell should you risk losing your warranty after paying so much.And want to add third party softwares??.. YOU HAVE TO BUY THEM FROM iTUNES STORE ONLY!!! . (Shell out more money). Apple is a bloody control freak. Dont surrender your freedom to it.Its good for american market (who have no idea what mobile freedom/choice is) which is in stone age compared to asian/european markets. When they want to buy a phone, they have to go to network operators and buy only those phones that are available on that network. & stick to that company till their contract expires. You want to change carriers? Not before paying damages, & buying another phone on the other network again. On the contrary, we in India have so much freedom. We go to handset shops & buy which ever phone we like. Then go to carriers.. checkout the plans & buy SIM.. Dont like the plan or rival carrier came up with a better plan???? EASY .. just remove & replace the SIM. Apple are trying to IMPOSE THEIR MODEL ON US riding on the hype iPhone has created in the US (yes it was a flop in Europe ..thats why Apple never talks about its sales in Europe).Dont fall for the subsidized price of iPhone... CHECKOUT THE DATA PLAN ATTACHED TO ITS SIM ..they will recover the cost through ridiculous data plans. Bill might come to around Rs 2500/month.(ATLEAST AMERICANS PAY THAT MUCH)Let me clear one thing though.. iphone is the best looking phone (its touch interface is nothing like you have ever seen ), & best browsing experience out there no doubt .... (& others are fast catching up..check out the android demo at Google IO 2008).... BUT AFTER A FEW DAYS IT ALL COMES DOWN TO FUNCTIONALITY...Those of who buy it... You will be most happy for atmost a week... & then, MARK MY WORDS...YOU WILL START REGRETTING IT!!!My advice...WAIT FOR HTC DREAM!! (powered by android). Still not convinced by then...by all means go for iPhone...So friends lets spread this info to all our friends and help them in making a wise decision..... & those of you who have bought unlocked versions already please share your experiences with others THANKS FOR YOUR TIME.... GOODLUCK!!!
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Apart from that another aspect is that the service providers in India are yet to launch 3g services in India...
So this was the info I had. Its upto you to make an informed decision...
CIAO!!!

The 3 Mistakes Of My Life

This is the name of the new Chetan Bhagat novel. I must say, its good!!!
Dont worry Mr. Chetan Bhagat, I am not about to spill the beans on your new book.
Well, coming back to the book, its about a story set in a Gujarat. It takes two significant events that have happened in Gujarat, the Bhuj earthquake and the Godhra massacre, and adds our favourite national sport cricket to make a good concoction....
The narrative is gripping and fast paced, which makes for a good reading.
Folks, please do pick a copy, its a good book.

Azaadi...

The following is what I feel after being liberated from Vodafone, the erstwhile hutch, which was the erstwhile Orange.

I have never ever come across such a network. You have got to experience the technical service to believe it. Its worse than pathetic. This is one network, which spends good amount of money only on painting itself in different colors.

Building a brand identity is indeed very important, but then just indulging in brand identity while ignoring the quality of the service? I don't know which smart guy/gal thinks it works that way?

Lets look at the things they have done...

They officially became Hutch from Orange!!!

They then indulge in a massive marketing and brand re-building campaign which also involved, educating the user that Hutch is now pink and that its not orange any more... Like any body gives a damn if the color is orange or pink when we cant use the network at all, especially at times when its really important.

The amount involved for this marketing campaign was huge, had they invested this in their infrastructure, they would have retained far more customers and this would have added to their revenues.

But then who cares, its more important to paint things from orange to pink.

Next, they are bought over by a British company Vodafone...

Now what happens is that, they again need to paint things different all over again... this time from pink to red. And the best is that after Vodafone took over, things have gone from bad to worse, its like from the frying pan into the fire. If you look at their latest ad campaign, its like they realize, the only thing that they can claim good about themselves is the customer service. Other than that in the things that actually matter, the network and the quality of their infrastructure, they are zilch...

Every time they have changed their colors, they must have spend a good amount of time and effort and labour in updating their stationary, websites and most of the other things that were associated with the brand. Isn't it ridiculous that instead of focusing on their core competency, which is providing a good network, they have indulged in stupid PR gimmicks.

If this goes on, I am sure Vodafone would be doing just what the British had to do in 1947.

Politicians, come on.. Not Again!!!

Well, we all need a break from our petty politicians, who have really run out of real issues to deal with. Maybe its the realization that they are utterly incapable of doing something constructive.

• First there is a cry saying cheerleaders imported from the US of A are vulgar.
• Next, they are immoral.
• Next, the bar dancers who have become unemployed since the last time our PP's woke up, should be allowed to dance instead. ( PP -> Petty Politicians)

I reckon, that the real reason why there is such a hue and cry is, because the self proclaimed moral brigade cum PP's haven't got their share of the money or maybe they asked/begged for some couple of million rupees and they dint even get peanuts. So they respond in the manner best they can. Most of them are not good for doing anything productive, and by productive I meant for the nation, not themselves.

I wish to write more, but then as I write, realization hits me that I am wasting my time and energy on this.

Who gives a "f" what the PP's think, as they say, "The Show Must Go On"...

Tips on Filling petrol in your Vehicles...

This is a Message from an email received from a friend:

I don't know what you guys are paying for petrol... but here in Durban, we are also paying higher, up to 47.35 per litre.
But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every litre. Here at the Marian Hill Pipeline, where I work in Durban, we deliver about 4 million litres in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel; the next day is jet fuel, and petrol, LRP and Unleaded. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 litres.

ONLY BUY OR FILL UP YOUR CAR OR BIKKIE IN THE EARLY MORNING WHEN THE GROUND TEMPERATURE IS STILL COLD.

Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground, the denser the fuel, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening.... your litre is not exactly a litre. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products play an important role. A 1degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

WHEN YOU'RE FILLING UP, DO NOT SQUEEZE THE TRIGGER OF THE NOZZLE TO A FAST MODE.

If you look, you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low,middle, and high. In slow mode, you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created, while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour. Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TIPS IS TO FILL UP WHEN YOUR TANK IS HALF FULL.

The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in your tank, the less air occupying its empty space. Petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated, so that every litre is actually the exact amount.

ANOTHER REMINDER, IF THERE IS A FUEL TRUCK PUMPING INTO THE STORAGE TANKS, WHEN YOU STOP TO BUY, DO NOT FILL UP.

Most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. Hope, this will help you get the maximum value for your money.

DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS! LET’S SHARE INFORMATION AND BENEFIT ALL, FOR THE BETTER OF MANKIND.

Well as it says towards the end, share this information with other to help them. Thats what I am doing right now... Hope this helps!!

Ricky Ponting, a Cricketer and a Clairvoyant

Ricky Ponting was known to be a cricketer, but I assume since he has been so pathetic lately, he has taken up being a clairvoyant as well. In the sunday edition of The Times of India, he mentioned that a third final wont be necessary, little did I realize that he meant India was to win.
Wonderful...

Its such a pleasure to see the likes of Ricky Ponting, Mathew Hayden, Andrew Symonds etc, eat humble pie...

Chak De India!!!

Big Willy Weekend

This weekend was the Big Willy Weekend. With my family, I watched 3 Will Smith movies on the trot.

The movies being:

1. Hitch.
2. I Am Legend.
3. The Pursuit of Happyness. ( Yeah, Happiness with a 'y', that is how its spelt in the movie).

The three movies touch upon three different views of life and all three are different genres of movie.

Its wonderful to see Will Smith portray three different characters with such finesse.

The first I saw, Hitch, portrays him as a date doctor, helping people (mostly men) with their problems in approaching the opposite sex. And how some idiot thinks that Will Smiths character is there to help him with his "Wham Bham, Thank You M'am" approach to life. In the idiots own words, "Get In, Get Off, Get Out". But in fact Will Smiths character is out there to help people who are genuinely interested in the opposite sex. The Bollywood rip off, "Partner" is a cheap imitation.

The next one I saw, I Am Legend, shows him as Dr. Robert Neville. An acclaimed scientist working on a cure for the virus that has already killed a 90% of Earths population, and converted a large percent of the surviving populace into bloodthirsty mutants. Some of the moments in that movie, especially the ones that convey his loneliness in view of the death of his canine friend are depicted wonderfully.

And last but not the least, The Pursuit Of Happyness, that shows him as a loving father who succeeds in achieving his goals despite all odds. This is one hell of a movie. You almost want to go and help him looking at him struggling through his life.

All the movies so different and so entertaining, and yet I never felt heavy after watching them. Compare that to a usual SRK melodrama, boy oh boy, I am waiting to get myself admitted to hospital to check out on the status of my health. I am not a SRK baiter,  but I just cant seem to digest his last offering Om Shanti Om. If not for the songs, except Dard-E-Disco, the movie is a total sucker.

Never mind, It felt wonderful watching these three movies. Hope, Will Smith keeps acting in such wonderful movies.

TZP

I recently watched Taare Zameen Par, the directorial debut by Aamir Khan. I am at loss of words to speak about the movie. Brilliant would be an understatement. The way the story has been handled speaks volumes about Aamir's caliber as a director. The movie doesn't indulge in any over the top melodramatic display of emotions. The emotions are portrayed subtly, with every character well defined. All the actors have delivered terrific performances.

There are moments in the first half where I felt that Darsheel's character has something in common with Calvin from the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon series. Overall a wonderful movie. I completely enjoyed it. Compared to another movie I had seen, Om Shanti Om, this in my opinion is miles ahead in its execution, story and direction.

Sweet sweet Victory

Beating the Australians at Perth, their fortress is a sweet victory. No doubt the Aussie's had their share of bad decisions this test match, but so did the Indian team at Sydney. It was wonderful to see Ricky Ponting eat humble pie.

I guess the best thing would be to win the Adelaide test match. That would round up the entire series and the Australian team, though they might have record books to boast about their second 16 consecutive test victories, deep down in their hearts, they would know they had already been beaten at Sydney.

Ishant Sharma was a revelation. My claim would be, he is the find of the tour. He had Ponting dancing all around the crease. seeing Gilchrist's furniture being disturbed by Sehwag was another beautiful sight. The part where Irfan Pathan asked for some more noise after collecting Stuart Clarke's wicket was a bold statement of his confidence.

We now go to Adelaide with heads held high.

CHAK DE INDIA!!! :D :D :D

Truly Discriminating...

Well, this piece certainly seems to be a little late in the offering. Its almost like beating a dead horse, but I was quite busy when the horse was alive.

The horse in question is the second test match which was played at Sydney.

I never have seen such a disappointing game of cricket. The standard of umpiring was the worst I have ever seen. And to see the Australian captain talk about honesty and integrity was utterly comical. Ricky Ponting is turning out to be the finest cheat in the history of cricket, not to mention that he has a suitable protege in Michael Clarke.

Of course our batsmen should have shown more character by at least staying put for the last three overs, but that  doesn't absolve the Aussie's of the way they played and the way that the umpires gave out the wonderful decisions.

The only way to sum it up was in the way captain Anil Kumble put it across, "There was only one team playing in the spirit of the game". And the reply by Ricky Ponting was at the best a cheap childish reply.

To see the way Glenn McGrath came to the support of his team mates was another sad affair, especially when the whole world know that he had an incident where he spat on Brian Lara. Then we have the match referee Mike Procter who being an epitome of fairness has imposed a ban on Harbhajan. And this guy is the same match referee who banned a ex-captain of the Pakistan cricket team, the stupid Rashid Latif for claiming a false wicket. By the same yardstick, shouldn't  Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist etc be banned for the false wickets they claimed? Quite simply the true racist here is Mike Procter, who is not qualified even to judge over a dispute between two kids squabbling over a piece of candy, is now deciding as serious an allegation as racism.

Since the umpires are also human, we are factoring a huge error in matches by not deciding to use technology. Those who are opposing technology by saying that it removes the human element are just sore losers, who are resisting change. They probably want to get away with false decisions for as long as possible.

Its high time the ICC (Incompetent/Idiotic/Idiosyncratic/Impotent Cricket Council) did something about the falling standards of this beautiful game.

A Dialogue

Following is a dialogue from one of my favorite movies "V for Vendetta". Just love the free flow of words. And hats off to the actor, Hugo Weaving, for the way he has portrayed the character V.

    "Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain     by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox    populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. [slashes a V into a Norsefire poster] The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. [giggles] Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you, and you may call me V."