A Lazy Saturday Afternoon...
I am right now in a familiar situation, 1.5 days ahead of me and nothing to do !Last weekend was pretty good, watched 3 movies , had good food and sleep :-)

Watched "The Day After Tomorrow" last Saturday ( Got a big kela in Symphony theatre, where Potter was weaving his spell). The Movie did surprise me ! I expected the movie to have the usual fundas like detonating a nuclear bomb in the centre of the hurricane, building plastic walls and dropping them in Atlantic (to prevent huge waves from entering NY), creating a anti-hurricane( with a reverse spin) that will bring down the original hurrricane etc. Dunno whether the U.S prez address in the end created any controversy in US !

After that, i watched "Philadelphia" - courtroom drama. I was wondering whether this movie will produce the same effect if Washington and Hanks swapped roles ! Had they swapped roles, i guess, it will turn to a 'nigga-hero-fighting-for-his-rights' movie.

The next day, i watched Potter ( got Black tickets for 150 bucks), it was just like the first two movies. I regret spending that much for this movie ! Just after two days, the same movie was shown in the local cable television !!

Now Playing: "Shiver" - Coldplay

Yet another Weekend !
Weekends are becoming too boring, if i dont find something interesting to do during weekends, i will soon face the "Blue Chip burnout" Syndrome. Guitar seems to be a good diversion and i have asked my colleague about having some Guitar Jam sessions(LOL !!). Lets see if it works out.According to my friend, Indian Software Engineers are socially challenged people ! I feel that is true, as most of the engineers out here in Bangalore slog day and night, facing a series of deadlines ( deathlines ?) throughout the year!

This weekend, i plan to watch Potter. Heard that the Mexican director of this movie is notorious for producing certain "kind" of movies. Lot of mixed reviews for this one, hope i get a ticket this time !

Now Playing: Ready to meet him -- DMX

Who wants to be a millionaire ?

This is the 107 th time i am receiving a mail from Ramani Malik (?), who is a legal practitioner in Nigeria. His client, Mrs. Maryam Abacha,widow of Late General Sanni Abacha (??) is looking for a trustworthy and understanding person who will help to receive,accommodate and safeguard this fund amounting to US$28,600,00. So, out of a billion Indians out there, they have spotted me ( Yes , me, the "chosen one" ), to safeguard that amount ! They are just waiting for my decision ! Whoa ! How generous !!

This Nigerian Mail scam has become a big nuisance. This time i replied to that mail, let me see whether i get a reply !

Yana Gupta and Zero Watt Bulb
This incident happened some 5 months ago. I normally used to take a bus to reach my office ( which was some 5 kms from my house ). While i was waiting for the bus, i noticed the following board just above the bus shelter :
Line 1 :This Bus Shelter is provided by
Line 2 : yana Gupta on 14/4/2002

I realized that my feet were not on the ground after reading that !! Yana Gupta contributing a Bus shelter in some unknown locality ( Which claims itslef to be Asia's largest Extension ) !!I never really expected the famous Czech born Supermodel to be involved in such things ! Why can't she have her photo also in that board ? (Yeh Dil maange more...yeah ;-) )

For some reasons, i stopped taking the bus. Two weeks back, i happened to cross the same old bus stop. I noticed that the Bus stop was glowing now after the elections and immediately i looked for the board, expecting a Yana Gupta photo with that killer smile on her face .
The Board read :

Line 1 :This Bus Shelter is provided by
Line 2 : Satyanarayana Gupta on 14/4/2002

Who moved my Cheese ?? Or did the Cheese move by itself ?
I read this book by Spencer Johnson, which talks about how one should face changes in life/work/surroundings etc. After reading that, i just looked back at my life and realised that the biggest break in my career came when i was ready to face a major change. Well, i have told this story n+1 times and i dont want to narrate that again !!
Strange that Life's biggest decisions are made in 2 minutes :-)
As of now, the only problem which i am facing is lack of time , this is perhaps a universal problem. I am struggling to manage time(Infact, this blog entry was written over a span of 5 hours !). Even though i reach office pretty early and leave late, i am not able to finish the day's work. Will think about this in the weekend ( D(a)emon, this will screw my weekend ;-) )
This week went really well and i am eagerly waiting for the weekend. No plans for this weekend, i guess it will be the usual stuff ( saturday night show, sunday lunch in KK ), Oh yeah , we have F1 this weekend. F1 is my lost love. After watching the Fireworks in Monaco , i realised that F1 is no longer a one Team show. I am really looking forward to a good F1 season.

Now playing: 'Woman'- John Lennon

New way of Protest ...
These Romans, Oops, Indians must be crazy !! One of my friend has decided to abandon Times New Roman font to protest Sonia Gandhi’s expected elevation to the PM’s post !!

Now Playing: "Poo Kodiyin Punnagai" -- Iruvar

Home Sweet Home
Something about my weekend, well, i watched 'PASSION OF CHRIST'--Not recommended for weak hearted. As my friend puts it, It has got more violence than Kill Bill !

Sunday was spent effectively on hunting a house and we finally zeroed down on one. I guess the behaviour of house owner played a very important role in our decision. Though we visited two other houses, we weren't impressed with the owners. From their speech we could clearly make out that they dont want to give the house to bachelors.

Now Playing : "Drums on Fire" featuring Sivamani and James Asher. Pretty good ones i shud say. Sivamani is in full flow ( as usual),that's an amazing performance. This is perhaps one of the best fusion albums ever made.

An interesting situation ...
This was a mail i got in cluenatix, theoretically this situation is possible.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Musharaff Became India's PM

Al Qaeda stages a military coup in Pakistan. Promises to hang Musharaff for
talking peace with India. Pervez Musharaff asks for American help. America
is caught up in its presidential elections. UK doesn't want to help too, as
election is due anytime. So the US president requests India to help
Musharaff. Not wanting to antagonise America, India provides shelter to
Musharaff. Al Qaeda labels Musharaff as a traitor.

Musharaff is flown to India. Is provided a high security home in Shimla by
the Government of India. He praises India sky high for helping him in his
hour of need. He becomes the toast of Indian Media. Musharaff loves the
adulation.

John Kerry wins the US election. Decides to withdraw troops from Iraq and
Afghanistan. Talks of leaving Al Qaeda alone as long as they don't impede
peace in the western world.

Musharaff sees no scope of returning to Pakistan. So decides to stay put in
India. Champions the cause of democracy, liberal thinking and peace in TV
debates, press interviews and conferences.

In recognition of his work of being the sole voice of dissent against Al
Qaeda, the Nobel Prize committee awards him the Nobel Peace Prize.

Yesterday's military man becomes the new poster boy for peace. Musharaff
profusely thanks India for it. Showcases India as the next big melting pot
from all international fora. Becomes the darling of the Indian media.

Delhi Outlook Magazine does a cover story on him titled 'The Indian Ataturk'
in which Musharaff expresses his desire to become an Indian citizen. Al
Qaeda is livid. Issues a fatwa against Musharaff for this act of treachery.
The clamour grows for granting him citizenship.

The Government of India clarifies that like all foreign citizens, he will be
granted citizenship only after 10 years of residence in India.

Musharaff declares 'if that be the case, i will wait for a few more years.'

Exactly 10 years after his defection to India, Musharaff becomes a legal
citizen of India.

Pervez Musharaff's popularity soars. Political parties like Samaj Party,
RJDI and BSPI woo him to join their party. Musharaff gives in. Joins Samaj
Party. Contests the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from the very rural Etawah in
Uttar Pradesh. Wins elections with a thumping majority.

The 2014 Lok Sabha elections throw up a hung parliament. Samaj Party holds
the key with 60 seats. Forms a rainbow coalition with all the ' leftist and
other progressive forces' in India. And stakes claim to run India. Pervez
Musharaff, being the most distinguished gentleman, is automatically elected
as the Leader of the Samaj Party in Parliament.

The President of India, invites the 'Progressive Front' to form the
government. Samaj Party, by virtue of being the single largest party in the
coalition, gets to decide who's Prime Minister. Samaj Party announces Pervez
Musharaff as the Prime Minister.

There are mild roars of protest across India. Leftists point out that 'if a
foreigner named Sonia Gandhi could be Prime Minister in 2004, why not Pervez
Musharaff?'

The Hindu South writes a stirring editorial in support of Musharaff saying
'respect the people's verdict'

NDTVI argues that by electing Musharaff, India will be getting its first
Nobel prize winning Prime Minister.

A stunned and silent India accepts Musharaff as its Prime Minister.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CTRL+ALT+DEL

This is perhaps the most widely used key combination in the world. I read a news article about the creator of this interesting key combo somtime back. David Bradley aka Dr.Dave was working in IBM when he faced the problem of restarting the machine, when it hangs. It took just 5 minutes to make that deadly combo work !
During some event, he got an opportunity to share the center stage along with $Bill Gates $. This is what he said when he started his speech : "I may have invented it, but Bill made it famous" -- ofcourse Gates wasn't amused ! His only remaining lifetime goal is to be a clue in Newyork Times Crossword puzzle !! What an interesting goal !

Well, why am i talking about CTRL+ALT+DEL ? I just saw this news headline " Its CTRL+ALT+DEL for Chandrababu Naidu " ! Personally, i feel that Andhra people have done a big injustice to him. People should remember that there is no free lunch ( or power ).It was also sheer bad luck that elections came when there was severe drought in the state. Better luck next time , CEO ;-)

By the time i am typing this, the verdict of Indian people is clear, they want a change in the Government. But still, anything can happen in next few days, so lets keep our fingers crossed !

Over the last few days, i have been working late, till my head hits the keyboard ! I really need to change my working style. Hope the situation improves....

Planning to watch Peter Pan or Passion of the Christ this weekend. I guess tickets shouldn't be a big problem, i am sure i will get company :-)

Now Playing: Tera Chehra --Adnan sami

Useless research ...

Useless Research #1 :
"...BMW drivers have more sex than owners of any other cars and are much more active than Porsche drivers, a new German car magazine has found. The German magazine Men's Car found in a survey of 2,253 motorists aged 20 to 50 published in its inaugural May issue that male BMW drivers say they have sex on average 2.2 times each week while Porsche drivers have sex 1.4 times per week. ... " ( Times of India 4th May 2004)

Comment : What a waste of time and money ! I am surprised to know that there are people who still sponsor such stupid research !!

Useless Research #2 :
Being the proud owner of a GMAIL account, i tried out a small (but silly) experiment. According to GMAIL terms, each new user can invite two of their friends to use gmail. I invited one of my colleagues and i sent another invite to my friend. I thought that these two people can invite four more, thereby getting gmail access to all my friends. But it turned out to be a disaster , as those users, who got their account via 'invite' mode dont have the option to invite others !! In the process, i missed out an opportunity to invite one of my best friends :-(

Comment : Prioritize your requirements before experimenting with such valuable things ( yeah, right now GMAIL account is "my precious" )

Useless Research #3 :
I am currently on top of the world, being in sixth floor of the building that is named PLUTO ( inspired by Walt Disney ?? ) , so i normally spend a lot of time waiting for the elevator. There is this girl X ( who is also located in the same 6th floor), who instead of waiting for the elevator in 6th floor, goes to 5th floor and waits for the elevator. She gets into the elevator in 5th floor , comes upto 6th floor and again goes down to ground floor. Why is she doing that ? Why cant she wait in 6th floor and get into the elevator ?
She doesn't have any friends in 5th floor as she is the only person in the elevator , when the elevator comes up to 6th floor . Even if no one else is waiting for the elevator in 6th floor, she goes to the fifth floor and gets into the elevator ! This is a typical 'Lateral Thinking' puzzle, still trying to figure out why she is doing that....

Comment : This research was carried out by a team of people, who spent a lot of time waiting for the elevator. Believe me, my contribution to this research is very minimal ;-)