Jai's Under Currents

No Preditions this time around - 2010

2009-12-31T18:15:00.001+05:30

After failing again, I have thought about ending this predictions regime. Definitely I didn't like to write it last year, and won't be doing so writing for another year. Really I am also in no mood to wish a great year ahead. But still its an occasion where we sometimes feel nostalgic, somewhat special. With this I believe I need to wish everyone a great New Year.

Some things should not be done on mood. They have to be done, because that's what everyone wants. That's what I want. So a great new year wish is not just a wish but what I really want. And most probably what everyone wants. A wish sometimes brings cheer to someone who actually was pretty much down. And I will definitely be glad if my wish actually helped someone. Because that's what I want a great wish.

This year was a great year on the personal level, for family & friends. Almost all of my friends are married and that means no more meaningful bachelor get-togethers. Hell some guys have even stopped calling me on my phone. Now, I have to call them up to speak (Darn). Earlier, I was the family man and I restrained from calling others. Now, I am calling these guys wantedly (to kill time ofcourse). Fun apart, definitely a great year. It had its quabbles, like, price raise, economic recession, etc., but still a very good year. Just for the fun that happened in the past year, we have to be very much grateful for the Lord.

And I am expecting more great things in the future (2010) as well. So,

Let us wish a warm, happy and ecstatic 2010, with wellness, prosperity, improvement, empowerment. Not only physically, but also mentally. And also be more innovative with our daily lives.

The last bit is for my ideology that if we produce something valuable, we would always survive in any kind of adversity. So to be innovative and improvising the hell out of what we know will probably save us from some harsh realities --> let us be happy and just do it.

Is it easier to be flamboyant ?

2009-03-14T17:22:00.001+05:30

I don't really like to be flamboyant. Truly this doesn't augur when you are new. I hate to be flamboyant personally, because that creates a lot of pressure on yourself to continue that form. It is easy to advertise yourself as the best of the best, but being the best of the best is not that easy. I would rather be subtle and gain the trust and loyalty of the crowd through continuous and consistent performance with stability and reliability than to launch one day with out-of-the-world hype and then fizzling out in a corner.

Take for example, Cuil Search Engine - supposed to kick the butt out of Google. It launched with such fanfare and statistics that everyone went 'Ga-Ga' over it, even TechCrunch. It immediately went kaput and made everybody point to Cuil as How not to do a launch. Now almost a full year into the launch, we don't even see a slender of a news from it, of course not even a second PR after that disastrous launch.

For the subtle launch take the launch of Google. It almost took them more than two years to do the first press release, which I believe did not carry that much of hype. I must have been doing the final-year of my Under-Graduate course at that time. I didn't even had a knowledge about Google. I was accessing Internet for the past 1 year at that time. I primarily used Yahoo.com for search. Until I joined in at my first job @ AdventNet, I didn't know about Google. Then at the job, I heard everyone talking about doing search on Google. I tried to use ask.com, and lots of other search engines, but Google grew upto numero uno in terms of search. We (almost all of my colleagues) would get help from Google and have loved to call the help like, "Ask Google Uncle". If anybody comes for help regarding any kind of coding, we would try to be helpful. In most occasions, if we were busy or if we didn't know the answer, we would ask them have you asked Google Uncle, and we will send them to the expert.

Google has been providing a continuous, consistent and stable performance and is also very reliable. I am not sure how to put it, the above lines seem like right out of the fan book of a Google fan.

But the thought of the blog is not about Google or Cuil, it is about people and how they present themselves. We all like Heroes in the Movies. If a hero has a flamboyant entry we applaud him (Take 007 Movies', the Gun Barrel shot). When he completes the final assault in the climax of the movie, it is the ultimate reach of flamboyance (Take 007 single-handedly taking down an entire troop of baddies with such timing a precision such there is nothing which is lost, sometimes not even his coolers/suit). But the fact remains that Movie Heroes play a script, the script which is supposed to be flamboyant with the all the timing/precision needed for an exact replica of what the audience want.

In real life, there is no 007, there is no Hero. Even if there are Heroes, they are not Heroes forever, and definitely they were not as flamboyantly launched. Hence, it pays not to be flamboyant but, be continuously consistent. When you are reliable, it of no matter how you launch (either with much fanfare, or of a lesser degree), you will always end up being a darling.

PS: This doesn't mean you never launch, The only thing worse than starting something and failing... is NOT starting something.

Be Real, be yourself, and do hard-smart work and you shall succeed.

Tendulkar's Gem

2009-03-10T20:18:00.001+05:30

I have been highly critical of Tendulkar in the recent past, but, on Sunday I was in awe. The man is there as I believed always. He is capable of destroying the bowling attack with as much disdain as he once was.

The best thing about his innings was how he paced his innings. And how he put in that extra punch, after he reached his century. He is the man, he is the legend. Sometimes we just expect so much from him.

If history is right, we were simply toooooo much dependent on him for victory. The 2003 world cup was Tendulkar's world cup, except in the Finals. He was a class act in that world cup and had great contribution for the team in it. I have seen him better that effort only yesterday. This is one of his best innings after a long time. He has scored a lot of hundreds in the recent past, but this one was and is certainly special.

In the recent past, Sachin is not really missed on/off the field. This has given him more scope to play at his strengths and as well experiment when it is needed. He is a definite force and is a great asset for the world cricket as a whole. When he hangs his boots, he will be remembered and worshipped for a long time to come.

I just wish he is also able make himself added as a elite member to a world-cup winning squad.

Great game Sachin, you are GAME !

Predictions 2009

2008-12-26T19:54:00.000+05:30

After making such lame predictions the previous year, I have decided to bore you again with some of my predictions for 2009. The fact that most of my predictions for 2008 failed remains and I believe I have found out the reason for that also.

I have noticed sometimes, particularly when I am watching cricket, that when I predict something and believe whole-heartedly something will happen, it definitely doesn't happen. And when I predict something and then pray a lot and think that this cannot happen, this is so impossible, then comes the jolt, it actually happens. To comment on my predictions when watching cricket, I certainly thought and believed Tendulkar will win it for India in the 1996 semi-finals of the world-cup, but alas, he got out and we were stranded with Kambli to cry and Kumble to walk out. So this time around I am going to be radical in my predictions.

Some of my predictions are very radical and may hurt somebody who is reading it. I specifically think these stuff might happen, but also think they are mostly impossible to happen.

1. War of India & Pakistan - again this is in the brink. If the actual countries are not in war, they will be in war in the cricket arena. Of course not in the field, but off the field for controlling the major share of ICC. Everybody already knows that England/Australia/WestIndies/ etc., are on warpath with the Indian cricket's money power (everybody hates IPL). Hence, this can hasten a little bit further. And one more, the Indian money power will vanish just as Honda is almost vanished from F1.

2. Congress loses General Elections 2009 - Well, if there was no war and general elections are held, the congress will definitely lose the elections and will have to settle for a hung parliament again. All regional politicos still ruling roost and decreasing congress' power in a congress government. I don't predict BJP for a win, because they are too lame to politicize everything and hence, will be left out as the only party who will be opposition, but their statements will definitely be unheard off when compared to Left (who though they don't have many seats, will act like they are ruling the nation - as usual).

3. Sensex (Lock, Stock & Dumicule) - Sensex can play like a joker, it will go up one day and go down another day. Not based on all chaos which is happening in the country and the world, but based on all unnecessary stuff like, a. private reservation, b. lay-offs, c. actually nobody is buying what we produce (just like the 3 big American auto makers), d. realty (up because of this, as in our land - land prices know only one route and that route is up, 'coz we are not America yaar, we still need our basic accomodation).

4. Cricket - finally Dravid will himself retire, not before Laxman ofcourse. I believe they will both retire at the same time. Dhoni will learn how to speak about team when they are losing, he has started that with the draw in the Mohali test, where the batsmen were pathetic in the scoring rate.

5. Tamil Nadu may get divided into two different regions, north & south. As two of the power centres in Tamil Nadu determine its fate in general elections 2009 (if it happens). Not far behind will be the tussle of the power centres to be transferred to the union cabinets - two of DMKs loyal servants will hold key posts in the Union Cabinet. And there's also Anbumani as an added dose for some more headache with the Medical administrators. Now, all the flyovers are open, one is about to open this monday. Hence, that prediction came good. Planning to throw out all the cable connections and buy a DTH connection, but you never know how you get trapped in these money-making schemes, after you are in, you are just paying up.

6. Economy as a timebomb will recover, try to recover, look like recovered, but still waiting when to go sky-high (kabloom). This economic timebomb and its unpredictibility will cause a lot of distress for companies, employees, employers and everybody else. They won't know how to fix this, whether to fix this or is this fixed. They will be trying out new things, existing solutions and will only hope some miracle happens. Some will even pray to their hearts fullest. Just like dreams cannot come true unless you work towards it, all false promises will fly out and all definite promises will also dangle in danger. Wherever you are tough times need tough decisions, and tough decisions mean even tough to survive those decisions. Be resilient and work on your morality and ethics at this moment. As it is not the short-term gain which will protect you. But, a long-term resilience, hard work, loyalty and honesty will carry you through. Even if not in the current crisis or environment, but for your entire life.

Predictions for Jai & Family - As I informed you last year itself, it is life as it goes. This year (2008), I have faced a lot of issues which I thought I would never face. Solved a lot of problems which I thought are unsolvable. Even thought some funny stuff which are not standard issue. Had great fun with the family and friends and not the least to be mentioned the work. Made tough decisions when they had to be made. Ignored bad moves, tried to hide some errors I have done. But overall this year was highly distressing. Not the very best of year as was 2007. But surely a mixed bag. As we try to grow up we would always get some idiotic ideal to follow and try to hold on to it. But the fact remains I haven't got any and that means I am still living an irresponsible life. GOK (God Only Knows) when I will become what I was meant to be, as the destiny for Jai is still not clear. Least of it all, I turned 30, damn that ugly number.

Death - a Feeling

2008-12-26T18:55:00.001+05:30

Is death a feeling ?

I fully believe that death is not the end. It actually continues the journey of our soul (just not in this world - we know off). Nobody can try to understand/explain that feeling until it is felt. And nobody has explained it to anybody. I strongly believe that somebody who has felt death has never actually lived again to tell about it. I don't believe in somebody saying that they saw their GOD, loved one or somebody else waived at them at the brink of their eternal sickness(end of the tunnel) and all (BTW, I call these stuff delusions).

At any moment of time we can die. I can die tomorrow, day-after tomorrow. My wife can die tomorrow, or 10 years later. My parents can die in future. My baby girl can die. Everyone has to undergo this unexplained feeling in this life journey. So how does one prepare for death. Can I save for my family such that they can survive my demise. Can I try to accomplish my duties to the best of my abilities as soon as possible. Can I try to be remembered as the best father, husband, son, fellow employee, programmer, human. What can I do to prepare for my demise. There should be something I could do to avoid death as long as I can to accomplish all of the above (greedy !!). Can I ?? What should I do ??

The fact is you don't prepare.

What ?? Why ?? How can you say this ?? This is lame !!.

Or is it ?? Actually it is not. You should not prepare. Do you actually prepare for a feeling ? Did you prepare to feel your mother's womb ? Did you prepare to be born ? Did you prepare to eat your first apple (you have to talk about eating now, don't you ?) ? Did you prepare to be joyous ? Did you prepare to fall in Love ? Did you prepare to be sober ? That's why I believe you shouldn't prepare to die.

When you don't prepare for any other of your feelings, how can you prepare for death. Death is a feeling. You have to feel it as it comes. Just as you drank your first drop of milk. Just as you sat alone in your class. Just as you felt very proud to be a parent. You have to just let it sink in. You shall not prepare for it. You shall not fear it. Its just another feeling.

I believe I am right, am I ?

Whatever I do is not upto the Mark

2008-11-28T19:55:00.001+05:30

Is it that I don't do my job well ?? Is it that I tend to be always careless ?? Am I not taking responsibility very well ?? Am I not serious about my job ??

I tend to get a lot of scrutiny either at office or at home or at church or at any place I go. I believe the reason is I don't try to overdo anything. But when I try to limit myself for not overdoing it, I practically limit myself in my performance. I think in limiting myself I am letting down a bunch of people, who have come to expect a lot from me.

Why am I limiting myself ?? Can I not overdo and get everybody's affection and make everybody adore me. I don't think so. In the past years, whenever I over did something, I had to lose doing other stuff, that I would love to do. When I stayed home for an important stuff, I missed work. When I stayed at office for critical stuff, I missed home. Its the same everywhere.

I think from the top of it I am not balancing myself properly or I have to dedicate my efforts to some items and ignore others. Meaning I should focus myself with some critical items and ignore all other stuff which I might love to incorporate inside the schedule. May be for a little more time.

Still I am hopelessly deciding what to focus on and what to leave !! May be I actually don't have a choice, born to an average middle-class family I am aspiring to be many things most of which I might need to forget. The real stuff is if I plan to achieve those which I aspire, I might need to live like a untiring system. And stop having a life out of it. The more I go through this process of prioritizing these items, the more I become frustrated. Not only about myself but also with my limitations and aspirations.

May be I am not worth it, my ambitions. May God help me through this turbulent times. I have postponed this decision for long now, now I want God to show me the exact way I should be walking. If I am clear of what I should be achieving I can at the least try my level best at it.

Life's Mistakes

2008-07-03T17:52:00.001+05:30

Can anybody vouch that they have never committed mistakes ??

Really I can't do so. I have committed a lot of them. Some of them under circumstances, some of them pretty consciously some of them without the exact knowledge of implications and most of them unknowingly (ignorance, you can say).

There can be so many reasons that you commit mistakes. There can be circumstances in which you don't know what else you can do. Or simply you are ignorant of the mistake itself.

Anyhow, this post is not about grave mistakes. This is about the mistakes you hesitate to commit. When you are about to decide something related to life, career, etc., and you over analyze the pros and cons of a decision. Mostly over analyze the cons and then back out because there are more risks involved.

There can be some decisions which when worked okay, can change/improve your life drastically. But fear of failure, fear of mistakes makes you sit and avoid the whole thing.

I am worried about those guys/gals, who fear a failure, fear a mistake and are consciously avoiding taking risks. 'Coz as much they avoid risks, they are also avoiding the benefits and they are also avoiding the 'CHANGE'.

You would have heard "'CHANGE' is the only 'constant'", that is so true. But if you fear to fail, you never welcome a change. The person who has committed a lot of mistakes always takes something out of the effort. That luxury is not available for those who always win. Or those who fail to take the risk.

Thomas Alva Edison, tried around a thousand and odd times to get the electric bulb lit. But he failed. He had committed a lot of mistakes in the effort. Finally when the bulb lit, it was like heaven. When this news leaked out, a man asked about it jokingly to Edison, for which Edison replied, 'Now, I know 1000 or more times how not to switch ON an bulb, but the world knows only one way to do it'.

Go ahead, commit more mistakes in life. Do know that, those mistakes will definitely make your life more knowledgeable and enjoyable - with all the support you get from your friends/family - and you will always have a 'CHANGE' ruling your life, and you will be happy about it.

Mind is always at a bother

2008-06-06T21:35:00.001+05:30

I have seen it, felt it, and embraced it. Since I was a kid, my mind has felt a bother right through my life. Sometimes I have wondered if the bother was the one keeping me focussed in day-to-day activities. It might be.

When I was a young boy, I aspired to be an Engineer. After becoming an Engineering student, I was at constant bother about the job I am going to get. To say the least I started learning about competitive exams (like GATE/GRE/TOEFL/CAT/GMAT) and their related books (like CSRs/puzzles/Language/Quantitative/Qualitative tests/questions), right in the first week of my college life. To the extent I was craze on getting a job, I just easily said, no to PG courses to my father. I wrote GATE, but that was pretty much namesake.

After I got the job, I wanted to be something more always. I was never satisfied with the way at work, constantly wanted to improve. This bother is very obsessive, it makes you spend hours/days/nights just deciding where I should be in the next two months/half year/year/,... etc.,

Some might feel, that this is very taxing and can take a major toll on everyday life, but I feel it has strengthened be whenever I was down. The resilience in the bother made me surpass expectations from most people. But the bother still remains. May be it is helping me on improving myself dearly. Really, sometimes I enjoy the bother, but sometimes I too tend to become unstable because of it. Always the stability returns, but sometimes I am not myself. And that too bothers me.

I am not sure if it is a gift, but as they say Idle mind is Devil's workshop, all I pray and want is to have a healthy relationship with this bother and let it continue to guide me on the life journey. May be it is God who has pre-determined this to happen inside me, or is it just my faith which beckons this explanation.

IPL is Over ('N Out)

2008-06-03T20:26:00.001+05:30

Finally the IPL fever is subsiding. It was pretty exciting to see the buzz created by IPL. To see the stars trying to perform upto their reputations. The upcoming stars performing beyond anybody's guess. And certainly a tight-crunch situational final.

It would have been very disappointing if somebody who was very inconsistent such as the Chennai Super Kings or the Punjab to have gotten the Cup. It was certainly commendable the way Rajastan Royals lifted the cup.

The match was not evenly poised any point of the time, as we knew that the CSK were around 25 runs short in their innings. But if they had held on to the tough chances which came their way, they would have certainly be the winners. But Shane Warne's boys were clinical in their approach and coasted home with adequate fuss.

The fact I had expected good match up whenever somebody played the other meant constant viewership. Eventhough ICL had a similar number of matches everyday, it did not stir up the excitement as there was not much expectation from the players involved.

Hence, we have to definitely give Kudos to the IPL tournament, the way it dramatized and pulled down TRPs of actual SOAPs/Dramas/Movies/Cinemas etc., and has ruled this holiday season.

Anyway, I will definitely be looking for some other kind of time-pass as IPL has created me a little bit of luxury time as it has left. Hope you also find a similar habit.

Praying for Hope & Faith

2008-05-27T13:55:00.001+05:30

Lots of times I have been down and dusted, the one thing that has lifted me up is Prayer. I am currently praying to get these disturbances sorted out. Please join me wherever you are and pray for me and my family. We are under terrible stress due to the various circumstances we have faced and the sheer stupidity with which we have reacted to those circumstances. We are facing dire consequences, but our prayer & your well-wishes can help us overcome those consequences and get them corrected.

Everybody has their chance to err, but only few overcome those chances. I am afraid to say that I have erred when I was given the chance. So I am repenting for what I have done now. Please pray for me and my family to overcome this error and be happy again. All I need is peace and tranquility when I head home after a bout of hard work. Pray for me to get that again.

I know I need to more than just prayer. I have to start doing things the way it should be. Please pray to God to give me the strength, courage and humility to do all those things which I have failed to do. Also help my family to get strengthened to face this tight situation which we have gotten ourselves into.

Pray for us.......

Nothing's there to console me right now, I am stuck

2008-05-26T18:48:00.001+05:30

Something has transpired, that has killed
my appetite for fun/... for a short while, I don't know when I can
catch up with it............

God only knows, how significant this will be for my life/....................................

How is success determined ?

2008-05-24T19:43:00.001+05:30

How is success determined ?

Is it the way you live ? Is it the way you eat ? Is it the way you are respected ?

How is success determined by others on you may be something said above. I have seen few who I term as successful people live the way they always did. Humble and down-to-earth. Similarly, I have seen their food habits, which haven't changed a lot. Definitely they command respect in every aspect of their life, but that's just what they didn't want - the unwanted attention, I mean.

So what makes a successful man or woman. How do you term yourself having succeeded in life. For this I found a more profound answer. A year ago my grand father succumbed to his age. Everyone around him at the moment of his passage, were very much astonished and content at the way he did it. Just a second, on his bed after the doctors had mentioned that he had no hope of survival, his breathing stopped. Everybody appreciated the way he had lived and had passed. He had lived a complete life.

Now that thought helped to find a true success in life. Its not about earning money, fame, respect. Living in luxury, eating and merry-making. Its about living a complete life, for yourself and the ones around you.

Now, that's a thought for all of you to ponder over.

Stability of Government is not the National Interest

2008-03-08T19:06:00.002+05:30

As per CPM, the stability of Government is not its Agenda. This was known to most of the Indian People already.

Our agenda is not stability of govt: CPM

Their Agenda is to destabilize the government. In turn, the nation and its economy. Their interest has always been to push their interest into a Government which is not run by them. Make a mockery of those who are running the government. Be a standard obstacle which can discourage progress.

They want an un-functioning government which will play to their tune and never be creative enough to earn some respect. The ruling co-alition however cannot even retaliate to their jibes, as they are not actually the opposition. If BJP cries foul about a policy, Congress will be able to match word by word to defend it. But with Left, if Congress tells anything, then the government will fall.

Now, it has gone too far as to the stretch, they are openly threatening the Government who are ruling a nation. We don't need such relatives, who don't want the government to perform in any palpable way to garner some kudos for themselves. That's why Left is not ruling most of the states anyway, and that's how it will stay in the national level too. If Left wants to be a Party who can lead the nation, they have to show some eligibility to do so. Nowadays, I am getting annoyed by their pyro-techniques, that I swear that I would never vote for anybody with their ideology [i.e., our Agenda it not a stable government].

Indian Political Choreo

2008-03-08T14:56:00.001+05:30

Now the Left has done its homework, pretty great. It has warned the government, that it will withdraw support to the UPA govt. if the govt. goes ahead with the Nuke Deal. The first and foremost thing that they have put forward is they will not let the Union Budget pass through during the Budget Session, if the Left's demands are not met.

How funny, for no sake of the people, the people's more populist budget in years, will be affected because of this euphoria. Clearly, the Left has stated that it is not pro-people, but it is Anti-US alone. Is the Left ever concerned about the people at all. Clearly, I don't see any reason for the people to relate the Left's anti-US policies.

First, the Nuke Deal is not only going to bring us Nuclear Power Plants and the related fuels. It is going to destroy all the technology apartheid every Indian industry has suffered in the past. Our entrepreneurs will be able to float companies with latest ground breaking technologies as immediate as they can arrive and start manufacturing products which will both be world-class but also make them very affordable to many Indians. It might trigger another industrial revolution in our manufacturing industry.

Till now the only technology which was beyond the technology apartheid was computers/software/IT. See what we have achieved in that industry. If this embargo will be lifted in our other tech starved industries, we might as well create a new breed of Indian entrepreneurs who will make this happen.

Growth of industry means growth of employment opportunities. This should actually be a blessing in disguise for the Left, as it may build more on its current strength and become of Labour powerhouse. But, I believe that is not their focus. They believe if people were to become more happy, they will forget the oppression of the aam-aadmi by their capitalist counter-parts image and will become one very similar to what IT industry is right-now (very happy with their management). Even if they are unhappy, they just shift their companies to become happier than before. Note: IT industry Employees had rejected Employee Unions within their midst, because they are fed up with the politics constructed by the Leftists or any other political party with it.

But for a fact nowadays, the Left seems to have the last laugh, it won't let any government rule the nation. Nor will it be able to rule the nation to its stance. The only thing to actually do is overthrow Left entirely. They are not doing anything good for the nation, by having the governments dance to their tunes.

And yes, they are better choreographers than some B(T/K)ollywood artistes, and with every election they win, and every Parliamentary Seat they win, they are getting better at it.

For me, Co-alition was a great tool for having a competitive government, everyone will have their say on what is good for the country and will be able to implement it meticulously. But here, co-alition is turning out to be taking the Government to ransom on items which are off national-interest. Really, whoever is involved in it has to be deemed a damager of national-interest (even be called as a T_____r).

Predictions India 2008 - More of a rant actually

2007-12-31T18:37:00.000+05:30

1. General Elections 2008 - Most probably, Congress after making itself a little bit more comfortable (or not) after the Gujarat/HP debacles, will try to force the Nuke Deal. This will enable the Left to pull the plug down on UPA. Thus we will see General Elections 2008, or also more probably, a phase of non-actioning government till the elections. Most probably, BJP if voted to power renegotiate the Nuke Deal, and will complete it within its term.

2. Sensex - no stupendous growth, but will be bright: If it goes the General Elections way, it might tank a little, but the main concern for the crash might be from strengthening Rupee, which might not happen if General Elections are earlier in the year. So, IT might just pull off sensex together again.

3. Cricket - India will become a young Cricket Team again with lots of talents buried within Team India coming up to fill voids to be created by the famous three, who instead of their greatness, couldn't pull themselves to lift a World Championship Trophy ever. Not even the 20-20 trophy, mind you!!

4. TamilNadu Arasu CATV/MSO/DTH - will arise and give a tough time for Sun/SCV. But it will be more pleasantries for the TamilNadu people anyway, as Good Competition is always good for the consumer. If something like the ESPN-StarSports merger happens it will be bad for the consumers. Other than the above TN was/is/will always be the best place anyone can spend their time on.

5. TamilNadu & Chennai - Infrastructure is getting better and will be great after key Flyovers in Kodambakkam/Chromepet/Vyasarpadi/T-Nagar are done. Also the CDMA multi-level parking will bring lots of cheer to Chennaiites. And the Highways built on the Golden Quadrilateral project will bear fruit. Its time the IT Corridor is completed and the Airport modernization and expansion is started.

Predictions for Jai 2008:

Still trying to be responsible son, husband and father. But, being just another person in the family. Personally I like being there at house very much, but before that I need to complete some of my uber goals. I don't have New Year resolutions, and take life as it grows on you. Everybody has told me its time I grow up and own up and other stuff, but I love being a child, which makes me do mistakes and learn from them and also to have a broader mind in accepting things. What I would like myself to actually do in 2008 is to learn about a lot more things that I have not learned before. Do new things which will enrich my appetite for knowledge in every piece of events which happen in our Daily life.

This Road is not Taken, so I will take it !!

2007-10-16T19:51:00.000+05:30

Sometimes you just know what is right and what is wrong. But most of the times you don't know what to do. You tend to take a decision anyhow and keep your fingers crossed. Every decision maker would have faced the same dilemma. But the reason he is a decision maker is because he makes that choice. The choice may be right or wrong, but he dares and takes it. That's why he is there for and that's why he gets paid for. If that's a wrong decision he will pay for it, but if its the right decision, boy he is going to get paid for it. For this displays his guts/hunch/talent/intuition/courage and whatever name you want to put. My name for this is curiosity. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but being curious is one forte which drives geniuses ahead of ordinary men. The way the 'Road not Taken' might inspire hundreds/thousands of others to follow you.

Theodore Roosevelt from a 1910 speech given in Paris, draws a great analogy such 'Risk Takers':

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Great one, isn't it ? Go, try to become a 'Risk Taker', because living such a life is definitely worth it.

Some thoughts on Improvizing the Hard Drive Design

2007-10-01T19:40:00.000+05:30

By far we have seen that using a hard disk for storage is bound to dome, one day or the other. A sudden power crash or a power surge can damage your hard disk. Reason, there are mechanical parts which rest or land on the sensitive magnetic media when something like this happens.

I happen to lose three hard disks (all due to power fluctuations) and that too in a span of around ten years [PS: I also lost another hard disk full of data, due to human error but the hard disk was fine]. That too after a lot of precautions, because I am a little bit of paranoid of such stuff. I make sure everything gets its worth. But that too cannot stop the hard disks on crashing and giving up on me. Why ??

Recently I thought, why not keep a small battery just to part the heads when there is a sudden power surge or power down. This would make the hard disks almost fool proof and highly reliable. It is not that this is going to stop people replacing their hard disk. Because, eventhough I lost two hard disks I upgraded them twice too, because of need for more space. If possible, I would be having all my hard disks at this time with my system, if I had more power capacity on my SMPS. But the fact that the hard disks have crashed have made it difficult to do so.

I believe the above should be a very minimal work and that would make the hard disks live more and be more reliable for their users. We at India, due to frequent power cuts/surges, know that we have to have a UPS(power backup), but I heard from some of my friends that a power backup at US is not even heard off.

One more idea I had in mind is a type of hybrid hard disks just similar to hybrid cars. This is a little bit more complicated as this involves the latest solid state devices (SSD) hard drives to the magnetic media. Now, magnetic media is cheap to make it more acceptable in the market. But the SSDs are faster and mainly don't have a moving parts, hence are not easily prone to the power down problems. But the price of a SSD is near triple the amount of normal Disc Drive that too at a lower capacity.

Can we combine the advantages of the both and provide a hybrid hard drive (both the magnetic media and the SSD) in the same drive. One holds the hot data as cache for faster processing and the other has a permanent storage. This will boost the computer performance without drastically affecting the packet. This type of device should be a tremendous hit based on the hard disk drives getting sold nowadays. With much less latency period and efficient storage capacity (price per GB), these devices will be ideal for the recent multi-core processors hitting the market.

I believe if the both of the above ideas get implemented, they should be smash hits. But, now who will do this ??

Sudden Turn of Events

2007-09-15T13:03:00.000+05:30

There is sudden turn of events!! Obviously, the heat of the Nuclear Deal has worn out and it has been dumped as a toxic waste by both opposition, Left and the ruling party. Whatever is happening in the background, is unknown, and the people who play the emotional cards in every game are handed over with the scapegoat tag again.

Now there is a new tagline going out there, Ram-Sethu, since, we don't want to delve into this matter too much, the fact remains that the force which wants the project to be completed are politicians, the forces which are against are the politicians (may be for all the wrong reasons). But the core of the problem such as the fisherman getting affected or how this is going to affect the ships coming to the chennai port.

One thing is clear for Left or the Opposition, the game is to destabilize the government on totally baseless issues. For left it was the name America itself which became the crux of its issues, and for the opposition, it is the work RAM, which works like a charm.

Religion should never play in politics in a secular country, but there cannot be a rule against it, can it ??. Only the people have to realize, its all politics and there is no passion for anyone towards any religion. In this race to power, people become scapegoats, now and then and will be in future too. Only education and by far the knowledge in worldly matters can avoid this. But in our country not being pious and following a particular religion becomes such a sin, that you become a extremist who is banned by your own community, relatives, home and even your parents.

I believe there is still room for a world free of any kind of discrimination (based on money, religion, color or anything else). One thing I more like about the StarTrek series is the camaraderie shown by people from various planets and how they battle out their common enemy (those who want to create the discrimination).

That day may not be more near, but it is the hope for such a day which should enthuse us to live for it.

Government or No Government, Elections or No Elections

2007-08-25T18:47:00.000+05:30

I am not sure what we will be seeing in the coming weeks. We could see another Election with the government standing firm for the Indo-US N-Deal against the pressure of Left [OR] We could see the lost face of one of the most admired politician cum reformist of our days [our beloved PM Manmohanji].

What is happening in the minds of the Left parties is bizarre, if they don't like anything American, they could have withdrawn support when the talks for this deal actually began or before it could have been signed. Why do the rambling when the deal is about to be operationalized. The govt. decided on the deal, the govt. should be the one who worries about when to operationalize it. Hence, there should be no reason for the Left parties to be worried about that. Mind you they(Left) are not part of the govt. They are just providing support to the Indian govt. run by (UPA) to make sure that the NDA don't make it to power.

Now, having said that, I am flummoxed by the damn reason why the Left parties want to run their own government (they just have some fifty-odd seats) with not even being the single largest party. They claim they are voicing concerns over the dependence on US for everything and becoming a strategic partner with USA for most stuff [like voting for war against Iran or whatever US' grand global strategy is]. But that's their party ideology, not a ideology of the Indian govt. (or the UPA) to wait on the N-Deal [which has been described as a break-through in Indo-US relationships].

My point is, Left is not part of the govt., Left doesn't run the govt. and Left just supports the UPA govt. from the outside, then why is it worried about the decisions of the govt. where, the Cabinet has approved the deal. If Left had been part of the govt. and the above had happened, it would have been really worthy of a call.

But now, I have lost faith in Left's credibility as a good leader for the nation. I would suggest anybody who is wooing for the Left parties to reconsider their decision seriously. Since, they are just not cutting it. If this kind of opposition had been happening before the N-Deal could be signed or discussed, there would have been no deal in the first place and India and the Indian govt. would not be blamed by foreign powers. Now the Indian govt. stands to lose its pretty face of growth, but it might also cause hesitation for other nations to negotiate for any kind of deal.

But I believe, if the govt. had done similar to what other countries had done [like getting the nuke technology from China], then it is a Left-Left situation and Left would have been praising the deals.

No matter what happens in the coming weeks, the Indian people would at one point do the below:
1. Don't provide a hung verdict (in the next elections), when you create an Indian govt. because, if an Indian govt. loses its face, it is as shameful for an Indian as it has been for the govt.
2. Don't again put the Left with a chance (may be lesser number of seats) like this again.
3. Either it is NDA/UPA/BJP/Cong, we have to work to provide a stable govt. and a healthy opposition.

My personal opinion for the past few days is, our PM will stand on his ground, and most probably we will be facing the Elections in Nov 2007 or early 2008.

Indian Cricket Team - A Short Essay

2005-04-18T17:04:00.000+05:30

Indian Cricket team has dipped a new low, but, it is not the lowest it has sunk yet. But definitely with the expectations of millions, sorry billions, of cricket lovers in the country and abroad, it has sunk to a new low.

The composition of Indian Cricket,

Viru Sehwag - One who has everything going onto his head, with a lot of over-confidence that he can defy anybody (any bowler) who can bowl to him, but he forgot about the fielders who can catch him out, either as runout or catch. The only thing he has contained is he has not forgotten how he played street cricket in Delhi.

Sachin Tendulkar - A class apart, it is very mesmerising to see him fail four or five times and then produce a gem of an innings, as the 123 against Pak in the fourth one-dayer. He seems as relaxed as he can be without any pressure. Sometimes too much relaxed.

Rahul Dravid - Still stroking the ball nicely, the only hope for India to salvage some pride, but do we have to push him in with more burden for Captaincy.

Young lads: Yuvraj, Kaif and not to forget a match-winner in 2nd one-dayer, MSDhoni. These guys are lightning in the field, great to pounce on any opportunities and fast to lose their wickets at seemingly favourable conditions and situations. Dhoni can be barred based on his freshness. Kaif because of his match-saving knock in Kanpur. But Yuvraj, besides the 33, I haven't seen him in the lime-light (NOTE: India has won more matches when he had scored a fifty & he and Kaif lead our team for the first record-breaking above 300 run-chase).

Sorry Bowlers: Unless they pick a wicket these bunch of guys have been seen as guys without any full-energy. Zaheer & Nehra bowling well within themselves, All erring in their line & length (count the extras given you will know), and whenever put into bowl India providing a 300 run scoreline to the opposition is very disheartening. The bowlers seem to have lost their confidence level somehow bowling in these flat pitches and the form of Afridi and Inzamam in particular hasn't helped them either. I don't feel anything but sorry for these members in the team.

Captain: His name defies any explanation, everything he does has come under criticism. The field changes, or discussing his bowlers during the over, over rate and finally his bad run with the bat. Its too much for Ganguly to take. May be he takes a well deserved rest from International Cricket with the ban and retrospect and learn about his basics, how he played at the grass roots level (street/school cricket). He has to play at least a season at Ranji to get back into his strides and come back with a bang (I hope).

And finally, what went wrong for India - by the looks of the above lines almost everything went wrong, they have to pull up their socks and listen to their inner selves. The answer lies within them. They have to come out of this shell, with a new found coach and mentor (whoever that is). This was the same team which was going glorious just two years ago in the world-cup. It just has to play the long rest which has been planned for the team in retrospection and come back with one little thing which is a must in every sportsman's mind - CONFIDENCE

Hesitations to Speak OUT

2004-08-05T19:49:00.000+05:30

Hesitations, why do we have them ?? Fear creates hesitations.

Should we hesitate to do something. Consider a boy in love with a girl, he hesitates to express himself to this girl. It becomes that this happens to the girl as well. Will they ever meet with a joyful union soon. The sooner the express they will. Otherwise, they will continue their life empty-handed.

The above is a plot of lots and lots of tamil movies. The guy hesitates to express his feelings towards his beloved. The movie - Idhayam - this movie is a classic for the love not told. The protagonist in the movie also fears the moment of reckoning. In one thrilling scene, he inserts a love letter in a book that he gives his beloved. The beloved is actually in sorrow for her sister has committed suicide (afraid of failing in love). Hero feels this is not the right moment to express himself - fear of rejection for the whole life. He pulls out the letter just when everything is about to blow. Finally the beloved gets hold of hero's journal and is pretty happy as she also reciprocates the feeling. But hero, fearing of rejection due to his journal falling in her beloved's hand is faced with a severe heart-attack.

In climax, the doctor says that the hero cannot accept any overtly good or overtly bad news. Because of this the heroine (beloved) is unable to express herself. She fears he will die due to overt happiness. The film ends with a note - may be in future - these two will express themselves and live happily everafter.

To my mind - only one quote - comes up -

It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.

If the hero has just tried initially without such commotion and fear, he could have gotten through the failure just like that. The fear which grew inside made him weak to face a challenge. Will he be able to face a new challenge. I guess fear is worse than "the Poison Tree" which only creates enemies, but fear ruins your ability to live life.

There's only one thing in life to fear, but fear itself.

Fear to face life is worse than fearing in trying a new food, because fear to face life ruins life. Fear on food just alters your apetite. But trying new food without fear can change the way you look at life and encourage you on the path of living without fear.

Best treatment for fear - face it, it won't fear you no more.

Just think..........

R we afraid to SPEAK our MIND

2004-07-30T17:17:00.000+05:30

Why are there anonymous posters in forums, blogs - 'guest', 'never mind' etc.,

R these guys morally spineless - why R they afraid of speaking their minds. Do they think something like - "the fellows will think bad about me if I said this. They will see through me". etc.,

I think so, if you are afraid to speak your mind how R U going to speak what U think about something you, your friends, your products, your team mates are doing. How this fear is going to help build the world class product that our company wants to build. Don't be afraid please speak your senses - if it is termed wrong, correct Urself. Nobody is going to kill U for speaking your mind. We are in a democratic country, remember.

This blog is a continuation to the spineless youngsters blog I posted earlier, I believe the courage thing in current youngsters is very low and is due to the main reason how they grew.

Some people think something to say, but because of circumstances say the something else. They don't speak their mind. Some people are over ambitious and over courageous, they say everything that comes up in mind. Both the versions are not the best in every action. But I will commend the later because they know sometimes they overdo it and they definitely have the chance to rectify it. But the former people have no chance for redeeming themselves.

I don't know if these persons will be able to standup against any atrocity they might suffer. Will they be able to put up against corporal punishments, preferences in marriage, give proper design suggestions. GOK.

Just think a little...

Should We be Submissive

2004-07-23T20:22:00.000+05:30

http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/23hostage.htm - US urges to stand up against abductions.

Should we be submissive, I don't think so ??. Why are we becoming submissive. We shouldnot be.

Yesterday it was people from the nations who sent troops to Iraq. After some merciless killings, some countries are turning back their troops. Now, it is turn for people working in firms rebuilding Iraq. The firm has decided to turn back.

If the above proceeds further, it will be that more companies run away from Iraq. Again colossal control will be handed over to the mighty bullies, the terrorists. Simply to say, they spread 'Terror'. Terrorism works by the basic principle of 'Terror'. When the fear/Terror is neutralized, terrorism will not work.

So, should we be submissive to the demands.

Just think a little...

Distractions - The Art to Avoid

2004-07-22T19:26:00.000+05:30

Distractions are a definitely personal preferences over something else.

Anything and everything from a Ring tone, Chat request, New Mail to a Phone call, guys chatting nearby, pretty girl on road can distract you. The point is to decide whether to get distracted or not.

I would actually love to hear a song playing in the background when I work. Similarly I have spent my boyhood when I read/learn my book with TV switched ON. I particularly relish sleeping with a mild melody playing ON the transistor/radio. Ringtones, when I hear them I definitely get fascinated or you can say distracted, then again that does not last long.

I clearly have this much in my mind, when I am into something interesting, nothing else can get my attention so easily and immediately. To say the least I am not awakened so easily from my sleep. Similarly with work/music/tv etc., And similarly I don't get into things pretty easily either. It takes time to get into the groove, hence I value not missing it. Another vital thing is I love to get interested in what I do. If I lose a small amount of interest in it, I tend to lose focus.

Some small deflections are immediately erased. And I go back full fledged on the focussed work. Ask it to anybody who has talked to me when I am very seriously involved in something else, they will definitely vouch for what I have told.

Sometimes those poor souls will be repeating the stuff they told me once/twice/thrice to make me shift gears to them. Yes, it is cruel. That's why I am confident of getting the fullest support for the above statement. What to do ?? that's how I am built.

Now, to state the whos who lose control easily and get distracted. These persons are pretty emotional persons. So they are not able to program their mind to be priority based. If somebody gets distracted mainly by a noise (can be anything for eg. ringtone) from what he is currently doing with utmost interest, then U will definitely say that my above two statements are correct/accurate.

But how I am trained to avoid that is a question. May be it is heredity, my mother has a niche to complete whatever job she is doing before she takes up anything else. She just does this by her shrewd work ethic. She is completely committed when she spends time in a work. There U go. I don't claim any of my good qualities to be mine. I say I have been taught well.

U could do that too. Just train yourself to be focussed on a work. First of all without distractions, then add Ur favourite items one by one as distractions. If you have survived the favourite items, then you can add annoying items. With these stuff you can get trained to not get distracted.

First try to abandon your emotions when you do a job. Then let the emotions come in but at a priority like, ShowStopper, Critical, Major, Minor, etc., - increase the priority with number of occurence for some particular emotions. [The above priorities are purely technical names, you can have your own naming conventions, if you find them cool] Once more use priorities for emotions wisely. Try to get back to the fullest focus after the distraction/emotion.

Another vital stuff in every practice is, take a break. Break is doing something light-hearted and nothing serious. I won't allow doing an exercise/coffee/technical discussion. Just a small walk, concentrating on a chat (not contributing), a simple wise crack (to aggravate your friendly enemies), bug fix (works for me), or simply something which will free your mind a little. Sometimes looking at your 'sight' nearby is also fine.

The vital part is get back to the groove after any distraction. Get working, focussing, and doing what you do best - work (??).

I have subscribed the above guidelines learning from what happened since my childhood days as a solution. Hence I don't know the time of the results, you can notify me on times once you are successful.

Once more, this has been a great under current, hoping to add soon.

If the above looks like all me, hey, its me writing the pages not you.

Is City Life Growing Spineless Youngsters

2004-07-19T14:37:00.000+05:30

I saw an article in City Express (15th July Chennai-India supplement of Indian Express). In that a polytechnic student (19 yrs) had committed suicide because his lecturer insulted him in public in front of his parents.

Nowadays we hear a lot of news of students committing suicide when,
1. They fair bad in exams.
2. They are given corporal punishment in School.
3. They are insulted like above.

I even heard a news that is more chilling than the above. A child was bitten by a dog. He didn't inform this to the parents in fear of them scolding him and stopping him from playing outdoors. The wound made him give his life.

Is the current generation of students/youngsters getting more spineless by the day. Are they afraid of facing difficulties in any place they go.Are parents and society encouraging such activities. Are parents becoming too strict or too supportive (not letting them know the world).

I know our society encourages only successes. Even a slightest of failures are made worse by pressure of the peers. For a student, it may be the exams. For a youngster it may be his dignity.

Is our City life making all this happen - not giving attention to children, not able to provide them adequate training to face the world, children loaded with complexes, etc.

Just think a little.

PS: The hasty wasty city life is encouraging the concept of micro families, where every family member gets out and does his bit. The child in these house-holds are left with more time to spend only with the TV or each other. Hence to garner them the information and courage to make them face the world is fastly vanishing. That kind of micro families and the hasty city life are the target of my article.

FYKI, this concept is fastly spreading to other urban centres such as small towns and villages. Again just let your thoughts flow.

Water - a Crucial Resource

2004-07-09T19:41:00.000+05:30

My point is that how long can we live depleting such resources (water/land/air - simply our eco system). I believe the next war will not be on money but on who controls such resources, the war over basic amenities. For instance, we are already seeing wars on oil.

Take the idea of farmers selling water for Chennai City and getting compensated for it.

Take the worst case scenario, the farmers get a lot of money, they forget what they do for living and when the income in water stops(depleted water), the thought goes on to plunder another resource of water. Now itself we have seen a lot of farmers selling their farm lands as plots and moving towards cities. Will the effect continue.

Or can we think something out-of-the-box like the de-salination plant, which is balanced with proper bought out water from other places(farmers/rwh(ponds)/dams/etc.,).

Here also we have a lot of cliches, but we can be sure that no one is unjustfully plundered. I believe doing one thing will not solve the problem, it has to be complemented with a lot of aid, similar to the power manufacturing, diesel/thermal/nuclear/hydel powerplants nourishing India with all the power we need.

My fav. quote, in the movie The Matrix, Agent Smith describes Human beings as viruses, one who occupy and plunder the place of all the resources and then move on to a richer resource to plunder more. We should not be like that. We have to replicate what other mammals do, adapt to the surroundings and build the eco system.

I have seen people waste a lot of water, when they are in abundant. And panic when they are scarce, and they move on to a richer place with resources.

When I was on a trip to Kerala, I thought of how much we have wasted, its time we built it again. Only people should come forward.

I believe the water under my ground should not be my property such that I can plunder it all I want. I can use it, I shall not sell it. Because, whatever I am doing right now, becomes or decides what is going to happen few decades from now. If this power falls on the right hands (like some God-like people), it will be great. But if this power even falls to a normal individual, it is quiet likely plundering will take place.

This comes to conclude I hate soft drink makers who plunder underground water for maximizing their produce.

I am not saying we should have a central organization which should ration water, but what I am saying is we should educate people to be sensible (For that we have to educate them first). From the Captain Planet, we have to reduce, re-use & re-cycle.

All in goodness in full intent. Commerce in water is good, Commerce in good intent is doubly good.

Passionate Review - The Passion of Christ

2004-07-09T19:31:00.000+05:30

The torture scenes of this movie where nothing which drew tears out of my eye, but the sentimental mother scene did. That was a class on its own.

Much would I not like my child or anybody with a heart condition to see the movie, I would much like everybody to see this movie one time or the other with all the effects in a big screen.

The torture scene which almost runs through more than 10 minutes can be told as one of the lengthiest/bloodiest scenes of movie history, but I would also like to mention that it may be a zillionth of the stuff which could have really happened (I heard from somewhere the face was almost skinned after the beating he suffered in real life).

Moreover, in real life would you still think that they could have left something to respectfully hide his privy parts. This statement is not mine but of a Teacher who taught us 'Moral Instructions along with Jesus' in my school.

The movie is excellent and it even cannot be compared to sitting through 1000s of sermons in real life.

This movie is going to win lots of Christians throughout the world. Some christians who see this will be turned again towards Jesus. I cannot really comment on other people's feelings, but the above is definitely what I really believe.

The film shows 'Passion' or suffering as per the review, but I would also like to comment that this 'Passion' is also literally the 'Passion' Jesus had for each and everyone in this world. And how he wanted himself to suffer for the sins of people. He is the truth, the way and the life.

Professionalism & My Father's Comment

2004-07-09T19:11:00.000+05:30

I once wanted to have a chappal made by hand labourers. They took a decent budget and also got hold of a design which I had used up. Later when they delivered the good, it was in stark contrast to the original with lots of lose ends. The main fact it didn't even fit in my feet.

I asked my father whether the raw materials we gave them were insufficient and they have done a poor job with cheap leather and everything.

His point was these guys have the talent to do a professional job, but they never do it. That's why they are still in footpath or a roadside shop fixing wornout chappals.

Even the same happened to the carpenters we hired to fix wooden cupboards up the lafts. Their target was in the money they will make (either in the daily wage or the commission from the timber store), but was never there in an ontime and professional workmanship. This hurted me the most, since I saw them as one of the most talented guys to do the job.

Once again my father's comment was, "U know these carpenters from 1980s right, still we are seeing them in the same state right, all this is because what U are seeing right now - lack of professionalism".

Professionalism is not taught in any class. Even in school someone finishing up a record note shabbily is passed up. They even tease the owner of the best record note as 'nee enna oru mark enna vida athigama vangiduviya, athukku ivvalavu scena' (Why are doing this much for getting just the +1 mark). In some schools there is not even this one mark bonus for a professional guy.

I don't know the reasons for this, but my kind of solution for this is to have more industry-school relationships to get the better out of our talent. And professionalism should be garnered from the root.

Professionalism should matter, not only when U compete on global scale but also in every competition.

Indian Cricket is fairing better lately due to professionalism. Before hand we just termed opposition (especially Australians) as professionals.