IT Onsite and Offshore Telecon 1

IT Onsite and Offshore conversations. Insprired by a blog by my friend Pradipta - here's a typical onsite (US) and  offshore team (India) telephone conversation :
Onsite Co-Ordinator (OC): I will be back home after 2 months.
OffshoreTeam(OT): Are you coming back for good? (Hopes getting raised .. somebody will replace the guy..here comes an opportunity finally)...
OC: (raised eyebrows..thinking...Back for Good ..now wats that)
Hell No. Have to get my VISA stamped. Will be there for two weeks. I will be in office for a day and will meet you all. What should I get for you.
OffshoreTeam(OT):(Hiding the sudden rush of dissappointment) oh We thought so..maybe T-Shirts and chocolates will do
OC: Sure! You guys are doing a great job.Keep it up.
Offshore Team: (Thinking... Hope to meet u at least once in person) Thanks . GNite. Team lets get back to work.

3 months later
OC: Hey guys.. am sorry..I could not come to meet you all..had some work at home ..blah blah blah...
Offshore team: We thought so. (Thinking : we knew it for sure)
OC: One person is travelling back. I will send the T-Shirts through him.
Am so sorry guys... You guys are doing a great job.Keep it up. Let's start the discussion on this new enhancement request!!

Dilbert - Timeless

If you have been working/have worked in a corporate, then there's a 99.99% probability that you would have come across Scot Adams Dilbert. If you belong to the  0.01% outlier group (and I would fail to understand the reason - Maybe you have a pointy haired boss :0 ), then drop your pen, close your books,  switch off your ipad, command+W your work windows and go to Barnes & Nobles/Amazon/Flipkart and get that Dilbert series  OR visit the website. You will be all smiles!

I first came across this comic strip on my newspapers Sunday edition. It was later, when I got my job and started working that I started to appreciate the sly humour.

So why am I writing a blog on Dilbert after being 12 years in corporate world. Well , time and again you come  across situations which you can directly relate to those priceless/timeless gems from Scott Adams.

Am having some "Dilbertian moments" and so here are few classic ones which I think everyone can relate to :

This one is just awesome :

My favorite :

You sure must have gone through this :

iPad Paintings

This is the second of my experiments  with Art Brush Pro iPad app. The app is pretty good.

This is based on a painting of Jimi Hendrix from voka.at

Quiz 2 - Crack This (Level - Moderate)

"A's" first movie was "B" and was directed by "C" who has directed and acted in a number of classics and is considered as one of the greatest film directors of all time.

"A's" last movie was  "D"  directed by "E" and was inspired from the movie "F".

"E",  is considered as one of the finest actors in the country. Arguably, "E's" most notable role was in the  movie "G" directed by  critically acclaimed director "H". "H" has directed a number of critically acclaimed as well as commercially successful movies in multi-languages. "H" brought in upcoming music director "I" for his film "J". "I" himself has been described as one of the worlds most prolific and prominent composer by "K". "K" also lists  "G" one of the all time 100 greatest films.

"K's" most famous feature "L" started in late 1920s and had "M" as the first "L". "N"  is the only Indian so far to be chosen as "L". 

"N's" image was used in a poster advertisement (T-Shirt Prints)  that cleverly re-used the tagline "O" from the advertisement for brand "P" . And "P" is the screen name (given by "C") by which we all know "A".

Connect (CQ2)

Another one. Connect. Not that easy but not tough either :)

Easy Connect (CQ1)

Not much to do so thought of posting a connect quiz. Easy one to start with . Connect along with  the funda.

Movies I saw in 2011

Here's a list of movies that I saw in 2011. Not many compared to 2010.

The Good Ones ->

Super 8 - Enjoyed this movie.
A super tribute to Spielberg. If you enjoyed E.T, chancer are you will like this one.

Rise of the planet of Apes - Awesome CGI. Enjoyed it.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Saw the Swedish version. Nice movie.

HP and Deathly Hollow 2 - A very well made final chapter. Did justice to the book. Probably the best of the series.

X-Men First Class - Thoroughly enjoyed this on flight.

Transformers - Dark Side of the Moon -Amazing CGI. Super first shot of the dark side of the moon. Enjoyable.

Source Code - Nice concept. Enjoyed the movie. The ending seemed deliberately stretched to
give it a happy ending. Overall nice watch.
7/10

Kung Fu Panda 2 - As good as the first part. Watch it if you are searching for Inner Peace!!

The Dirty Picture - Good hindi movie after a long time.

Paul - Absolutely hilarious. Totally loved it. Went to see this just because it was a road movie and was pleasantly surprised. 9 on 10.

No One Killed Jessica - Another good watch

Midnight in Paris - Nice movie.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara - A road trip video made into a movie. Was enjoyable in parts though.

Bodyguard - Another mindless action , a la Rajnikanth kinda movie. Strictly for Sallu fans. Rest avoid.
This one is featuring in the "Good" section is because "it was soooo bad that it was good" :)

The Bad Ones ->
Cowboys and Aliens - The trailer was way better than the movie. Waste of money and time.

Fast Five - Mindless but amazing action. Din't enjoy as much as the first part of the series.

Mere Brother Ki Dulhan - I thought this movie was a bit stupid.

The Ugly Ones ->
Aarakshan - This one gave me a sever headache.

RA.One - The top contender for India's Razzies (Kela Awards) and This.One deserves it more than any movie. Big let down by SRK.

Dhobi Ghat - This was na gar ka na ghat ka. Though the performance by the relatively lesser known stars was admirable.

I am Number 4 -  Totally avoidable. Didn't even remember that I had seen it.

Divine Intervention

Kabhi kabhi kuch aisie ghatnayein hoti hain jise explain nahin kiya jaa sakta.

It was Saturday evening around 7:30pm and I was hungry. One of my roomie Ankur was talking to his fiance on phone and the other Abhi, had just taken a shower. 

It was full moon night. Abhi had bought a telescope. I asked my roomies to get ready for going out on a random drive to a place where we could setup the telescope and enjoy the view of the moon.

While they were getting ready, I decided to make myself some tea. Had bought Earl of Grey flavored Iranian tea and I absolutely love it.  So I placed the tea pan on the stove , added water, sugar and tea leaves and turned on the stove.

Meanwhile Abhi was all ready and Ankur had reluctantly ended his call to get ready. Abhi got his telescope and started fixing it. It was a Celestron table top telescope and is good for beginners. Easy to setup and light to carry. Ankur was ready as well and we decided to go to Joseph D Grant county park which was a 35 minutes drive from home. He was wearing slippers and I asked him if he wanted to change to shoes instead, to which he replied in negative.

I have been to Joseph D Grant park many times and am always awed by the calmness of the place. You can "hear" the silence here. And the drive to this place is awesome as well. The curves, the bends, the view of the valley , especially during sunset and after.

I took my flashlights, picked up my pullover, camera, wallet & keys, put on my trekking shoes and was ready. Since all of us were hungry , we first decided to go to MacDonalds which was just a block away.

So off we went to MacD in my 2002 Honda CRV and ordered a couple of Southern style chicken sandwiches. Abhi, being a vegetatrian and with MacD not offering much veggie choice,  decided to go to Subway instead. Ankur and I had the chicken sandwiches and then I said I would walkdown to the Starbucks to get a Latte.

We came out of MacD and were getting into our car when just like that I just suggested on going to 

Golden Gate in SFO (which was about an hours drive) and its vista points to observe the city and the full moon from there.

It was 8:10pm already. Abhi jumped into the idea and said yes. Ankur had no other choice but to agree :)

So we decided to get coffee first, then drive down to Subway from where Abhi would pickup a Veggie Delight and then we would start for Golden Gate.

As Ankur was getting into the car, I again noticed that he was in his slippers. I asked him if he still didn't want to change to shoes, as Golden Gate area would be very cold at night. Ankur finally agreed and decided to walkdown to home and change to his Reebok shoes. I also asked him to get the Canon DSLR from my room and said we would pick him up from 7-11, which was next to our place, right after we picked up the veggie delight.

  

It was already 8:30pm. So Ankur went back home and I picked up a tall extra Hot Latte from Starbucks. We (Abhi and I) drove down to Subway and after our transaction there we reached 7-11.

Ankur wasn't there so we waited.

After some time (which seemed a tad long)  we saw him coming towards us, wearing his white sneakers with the camera bag in his hand.

As we pulled down the window of the car, he asked "Did any one of you leave the stove on?"

And then it came back to me - pan on stove, Iranian tea ... I had completely forgotten that I had left the stove on.  Ankur then said that when he entered home, the room was completely filled with smoke and the tea pan was hot red. For some reason the smoke detectors had failed. He opened the windows,

switched off the stove and cleared the smoke.

Another few hours and it would have been a disaster.

It was for some reason that Ankur had put on slippers....that I suggested going to Golden Gate..that I asked him to change to shoes. God knows what would have happened had we left for Joseph D Grant park.

I still dont know what prompted me to suggest going to Golden Gate when we  had already planned for JDG park. Divine Intervention is what I call it.

Woh kehte hain na - Jo Hota Hai Achche Ke Liye Hota Hai :) 

Buddha Speak

A friend of mine wanted to buy a specific car from Maruti but was short on budget. He looked sad and I asked him the reason.
He replied "Dezire is the cause of sorrow".

A couple of years later I met him again. He had already bought the car but he still looked sad. I asked him "Now why are you sad."

He replied "Dezire is the cause of sorrow". Apparently his car was giving problems. :)

Changing Times

One of my office colleague and social n/w-ing friend (Dheeraj) put this as his FB status message : 
"When I was a kid I didn't have a computer, cell phone, iPod, Nintendo, DSi, Xbox, PS3, Wifi or Wii. I played outside till evening.... I ate what my mom made. If I ever told my parents "no" or back answered, I got in TROUBLE! Life wasn't hard, it was BEAUTIFUL & I survived. I appreciate the way I was raised.... I love my parents and the childhood they gave me... ♥ :) "


And it made me think for a while. 


- When I was a kid, there were no computers, no cell phones, no iPods, no Nintendo, no XBox, no PS3, no WiFi, no Wii, no Kinect, no iPad. So naturally I would not think about things that aren't present. Had it been present , I would have definitely wanted at least one of it and would have been a bad kid (frowning/crying/shouting/throwing tantrums) if my demands were not met :)  


- There was the cricket bat and the entire kit, there was badminton, there was football, there was carrom, Ludo and other indoor games, there were comics, tintin..  that I was aware of. And I wanted one of each. And my parents did give me most of it , if not all. It made me happy. It made them happy as well.


- TV was new in the year around 82 (in my city atleast) and  it was a wonderful box indeed. I wanted one. (As I grew up I  realised the fact that the wonderful box was an idiot box in 'guise.)


The list is endless.


Times have changed. Times are changing. Kids are getting smarter. The current kids have more exposure to technology than us. And the current generation parents have more responsibility ,  to provide the right amount of exposure to the field activities, the offline activities and  the online activity. And yes the parents are smarter too. That I guess is evolution :)
Adapting to the changing environment is important. Darwin was very right.


So maybe 15-20 years later (if FB still exists) , the current generation kid, who is exposed to the gadgets and the online world and who by that time would have grown up, would probably post something like this :

"When I was a kid I DID have a computer, cell phone, iPod, Nintendo, DSi, Xbox, PS3, Wifi and Wii. I played outside as well 

... I ate what my mom made..well most of the time :) .  If I ever told my parents "no" or back answered, even I got in TROUBLE!  Life wasn't hard, it was BEAUTIFUL & I survived. I appreciate the way I was raised.... I love my parents and the childhood they gave me... ♥ :) "

Dream come true - India Wins the World Cup 2011

After 28 years, India scripts history to win the most coveted CUP in Cricket, the CUP that counts.
A long wait indeed and hence words cannot describe the range of emotions we are going through today.

Absolutely delighted to see the young team holding there nerves to get through.
Its a dream come true to see Sachin 'GOD' Tendulkar , finally getting a chance to lay his hands on the trophy. Its would have been out of the world for him...and for all of us watching him hold the trophy.

The Indian fielding was way above average tonight specifically Yuvi (he could do nothing wrong), Electric Raina and Spontaneous Virat.

Hats off to Gambhir and Virat for their excellent knocks. And finally MSD .. coolness personified.
It takes big guts to go out in the middle in a crunch match when you have not been performing and then prove everyone wrong. An innings of his life .... master class and what timing ... Awesomeness!!

We all here are missing the celebrations back home. Twitter and Facebook is where we are celebrating!! :)

This one is those moments that you never forget in your life ...ever!!

Thank you Team India. You guys won it for India, won it for Sachin!!!

Quiz 1 - Crack this. ( Level - easy )

‘A’ is an archaeologist-adventurer and was portrayed by celebrity ‘B’ in movies. 

'B’s' other half ‘C’ is also a famous celebrity.
‘C’ was cast as ‘D’ in the movie ‘E’ . 

'E' is the name of an ancient city which is based on ‘F’ written by ‘G’ . 

People from ‘E’ are called ‘H’ which in current day is used to refer to a program that appears to perform some useful function before installation, but instead steals information and harms the system.

A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H?

Photos From Road Trip

Shadows

Horse Bend Shoe near Page , Arizona. The setting sun was creating the awesome colors.

Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona. Beautiful patterns and color created by nature. Do visit this place.

PJ#6

Q.What would you call the enmity between a certain  Mr.Khan and a certain Mr.Oberoi over a damsel?
A. Aish-War Yeah!!

PJ#5

My Biology teacher pulled out  a drawing of abdomen and another drawing of respiratory tract and asked me to name it.
I replied - ABS-TRACT art ;)

Movie That I Would Recommend - Thelma & Louise

Here is another  movie that I would  recommend - Thelma & Louise
So if you have nothing to do on a lazy Saturday or Sunday
then you can rent (or legally download) the movie and enjoy.

If you are into road trip movies you will surely like Thelma & Lousie.
Even if you are not, this is a very good watch.

A 1991 movie , directed by "Gladiator" Ridley Scott, this movie is about two ordinary women
under extra-ordinary situations.

And to be clear - Its not a chick-flick. Yes it is a bit feminist but overall a fun movie to watch.

Susan Sarandon is abolutely fantastic as Lousie.
Geena Davis is a revelation. Her Thelma is a character that finally breaks free. Her performance as a naive house-wife and then the transition she undergoes is lovely.

Both the actors share a delightful chemistry and you will start thinking about their safety as well
as start cursing them for their at-times-foolishness. Thats the beauty.

Apart from the actors, what is absolutely breath-taking is the cinematography, the landscape.
If you have travelled across America, you will connect. If you haven't then you will marvel at the landscape.

The male characters in the movie are a little cliched but thats one reason for the extra-ordinary situations. Watch Brad Pitt in one of his earlier movies.

Has a somewhat predictable yet super ending.

An awesome movie about free-spirit, about breaking-free and about friendship.

oh and I forgot to mention Thunderbird :)

I enjoyed it. You might as well !!

Get Your Kicks On Rt 66

Click here to view this photo book larger

Movie That I Would Recommend - Ballad of a Soldier

Ballad of a Soldier (1959)

Here is a movie that I would highly recommend - Ballad of a Soldier
So if you have nothing to do on a Friday evening or on a lazy Saturday then you can rent (or legally download) the movie and enjoy.

1. Ballad of a Soldier (Lang : Russian)
 A 1959 movie , where a WWII soldier who 'accidentally' becomes a war hero, asks for leave to go home to meet his mother instead of a bravery medal. He is granted a 10 days leave (since the journey time to and back is more than the time he would get with his family). On his way he comes across a number of people, a beautiful charming lady . The chemistry between the soldier and this lady is absolutely absolutely sweet . They don't make them like this anymore.
Does the soldier get to meet his mother? Its sweet and touching.
A simple story with outstanding photography, classic use of light for close-ups and great acting.

I would categorize it as a road movie though its more than that.

The software engineers who need leaves to visit home  will highly appreciate this. In fact, almost everyone who's working away from home can relate to this.

Had seen this movie in Doordarshan (yes good old DD days) years back when I was a kid. Am not sure if I understood it back then, but I do remember being charmed by the soldier and the pretty lady. I rented the DVD few months back and had an excellent time watching it again.

(For people in US, its available on Netflix in streaming. For folks in India, checkout if you can find the DVD or buy it. Worth adding to your personal library).
Highly recommended!!!!

First Loves!

I
Years back I had my first fling. It didn't last long. It would never have.
Though we were together, the 'love' was missing.
'She' had some extra-pounds and I could see she was heavy on my pocket too.
I had just got into my first job and I quickly realized that this wasn't going anywhere.
I ended the relationship and I was happy to be free.

II
About 6 months later I saw 'her'...slim and cute..in a beautiful blue and white outfit...standing out from the crowd. I was captivated. I decided to connect with her...
I had a pretty good time with her. In dark times she would show me the light.
Good times don't last long. One fine day she was gone. I looked for her , searched for her in vain.
I was heart-broken. I finally accepted the truth. I still love her.

III
One of my friend introduced 'her' to me and I was charmed. She was very cute,  a little short, colorful and she had a shine in her. I loved to talk 'with' her. She had become my necessity. My profession took me to a different country and I could not take her with me.
Time went by. When I returned I found that she was not keeping well and one fine day she died.

IV
For some time I was just carrying on....was just unsure of settling down.
I went abroad again and there I met 'her'. It was love at first sight. She was sexy...she was like...magic. She was the one. I couldn't resist her charms...
My trip ended. I had to return back. I couldn't bring her along with me owing to some legal paperworks.
I left her in custody of my close friend. After 3 months of separation I was back. Am still in love with her.

                                                                    ---####---

( 1. My first phone was a Nokia 5110 which is now referred to as brick. Was heavy and keeping a cellphone was expensive..at least for me. It was 2001.
  2. My second phone was a sky blue/white colored Nokia 2100, slender with white light. I lost it in office :(   )
  3. My third phone was a cute Samsung SGH-X460 flip phone, silver shiny body. Was good but is not working now.
  4. My iPhone ..pure magic. Bought it in Dec-08. Tried to get it unlocked before i returned back to India in Mar-09 but couldn't owing to that contract with AT&T. My friend Murali kept it safe until I returned in July-09. Though 3GS,iPhone4 are out but my 3G is good and am loving it)

(Though grammatically objects are referred to as "it", however I have taken some liberties )

;)

3 Idiots : A Q&A review

(An interview with my alter-ego :)

Q. Have you read the book "5 Point Someone" (5PS) ? Do you think Chetan Bhagat (CB) deserves more  credit.
A. First things first ..I haven't read "Five Point Someone". I did buy the book when it was released, 
read the first few pages but did not find it that exciting and dropped reading it. So am not going 
to compare the book and the movie.
As for CB, he has got enough credit for the story. We all know the movie is "Inspired By" and has been 
adapted well from 5PS for the movie.  Guess CB feels he has lost on on the mulah by signing the contract. His fault.

Q. Is it a fun movie?
A. You bet it is.

Q. Does it have good songs?
A. Ahem..songs are good in the movie...especially the one touted as Aamir's funeral song..yeah that "Behti hawa Sa Tha Woh". 
"Give me some sunshine" is good. But I don't want to grow up again :)
Rest I don't remember. 

Q. Do they (Aamir,Madhavan,Sharman) look like college students? Isn't it too much to take that actors in their mid-thirties and mid-forties enact the role of 20 something?
A. Infact it is totally believable. And frankly speaking, it really doesn't matter.
Aamir is good as usual. Sharman does a great job. So does Omi 'Chatur' Vaidya
Boman Irani for once was over the top.

Q. Speaking of the actors...How is Kareena Kapoor in the movie.
A. I am not a fan of KK, but the fact that I did not dislike her in this movie is a testimony to the other fact that she has done good. It reminded me of her performance in Jab We Met.

Q. Heard about one speech in the movie as very hilarious ?
A. Go watch the movie. Yes, the movie has some great hilarious moments. 
The speech being the high point. Its a bit kiddish..though the kids won't understand. It has been splendidly performed by the guy "Omi Vaidya" playing the role of Chatur. Infact that guy is brilliant in his role.  My guess is, people will remember this guy's speech more than Aamir's performance.

Q. Like all Raju Hirani movie, does this have a message.
A. Oh it does have lots of messages. A very good one at that. 
   Social messages that has been cleverly wrapped in a fully entertaining plot.
   Has a message for students - dont just cram it up, don't give up..kaabil bano.
   For teachers - bookish knowledge is no knowledge, don't unnecessarily pressurize the students ( So  very true), 
   For parents - Let your child follow his/her heart 
and in general  for all - "Don't follow success. Excel in the work you do"  and to 
quote Steve Jobs - "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Q. Do you think this is Raju Hirani's best work.
A. Not exactly. The MBBS series was great. I rate his Munnabhai MBBS as his best, followed by Lage Raho Munnabhai. 3 Idiots is a good movie with a good message.

Q. Why do you think its not his best work.
A. Maybe because I wasn't expecting anything when I watched "Munnabhai" but was expecting a lot when I watched 3 Idiots. Your good performance increases the expectation and raises the benchmark. 

Maybe because I thought some of the gags were old (like the astronauts pencil) 

Maybe because I thought some sequences were inspired from the first two movies itself like the khadoos (pardon my language) college head, the healing of the paralysed patients..). But this is entirely my opinion. You asked it..I gave it.

Q. Don't you think the delivery scene was exaggerated.
A. Yes it was exaggerated , it was meant to be exaggerated. It was done in a good way though. I enjoyed it. Come-on its a movie. How do you suppose it should have been?  BTW I thought you haven't seen the movie.

Q. No I haven't ...just heard abt it. Do you think Raju Hirani is a genious.
A. I am beginning to believe so. Now think of this ...

• which group (indian of course)  is the one that go to movies most - almost all college students , people freshly joining jobs, people in jobs where weekends are privileges, generation z, almost all Indians (in India or abroad :)
• take a theme that is close to the sentiments of majority of Indians --- college; education; 5 point someone,
• get its IIT-IIM alumni+investment banker+author to sign the contract for peanuts and later make him fret over his decision, 
• get IIM Bangalore campus to shoot the movie --- wud appeal to all IIM students and the IIM alumni most of whom would be NRIs by now.
• wrap it in a semi flashback mode ---- appeals to all age groups,
• add some comic characters --- appeals to kids and grown-up kids, 
• get the best selling stars of time
• most important of all rope in Aamir Khan and half of your direction and marketing is take care of.

That indeed is a mark of a genious

Q. Do you think the movie has any flaws
A. Like humans, the movie has its shades of grey :

• Its a bit too much to believe that Rancho, Farhan and Raju were the best of friends yet Rancho never told them his true identity ...too much but thats what movies are for
• Practically speaking, a student who argues with his professors in an Indian Engineering is very unlikely to top the exams. I mean the student might score good in written exams..but practical exams are where th professors rule the roost..well most of them.

• A guy leaving his girlfriend (and that too KK) for keeping some stupid promise he made to his mentor..too hard to digest..Guess here Rancho wasn't following his heart.

• And yes that exaggerated scene that we talked of earlier.

But you can ignore these. Its a movie and has its heart in the right place.

Q. Did the movie remind you of your college.
A. Yes. For a moment I was nostalgic.  The professors, the Chaturs, the close friends, the roomies, the mess boys... it was fun. I am sure a lot of people would be nostalgic.
As a matter of fact, people can even relate it to their work environment, especially the cramming up for examination...u got it? I think u did!!

Q. Did you like the movie.
A. Absolutely. Great locations, great camera work and cinematography.

Its inspiring. 

Aal Izz Well with this one.