Tests and quizzes....sigh....
Monday, January 31, 2005
And my quest for finding some sort of a semblance of a reason behind the pointless tests goes on....
Happy Republic Day (albeit belated)
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Got this in mail:
"An amendment to a motion may be amended, but
an amendment to an amendment to a motion may not
be amended. However, a substitute for an amendment
to and amendment to a motion may be adopted and
the substitute may be amended."
-- The Montana legislature's contribution to the English language.
AfterThought:
The law came to force today.. much to the misery of written and spoken language, and all her initiates!
Miracleman or just another conman??
Monday, January 24, 2005
Benny Hinn came to India. Some moved rhythmatically to his tunes and prayers, while many others moved to get him out of the country...
Hinn came, put up a hell of a show, punctuated by the usual "I got healed" testimonials and went out, his pockets heavier by another few millions. People thronged the Hinn show, with genuine faith, and out of curiosity what the furore was all about. Hinn, the miracle healer, supposedly healed many there and then. The healed ones, then being invited on the stage to recount their experience. But why wasn't there any place for the ones that didn't get healed. They were told that they "weren't ready" yet.
Human mind is a wonderful thing.
It has the power to heal the body all on faith itself. Even a pouch of sugar taken on faith works wonders. Is Benny Hinn that pouch of sugar??
It also has the power to make u "believe" that u r healed even though u r not. Is Benny Hinn that "make believer"?? Sometimes, people testify that they got healed just by feeling "something". Like feeling a "warmth" inside them. Infact, just a quick search on google will tell u about news reports of hundreds of such incidents where people have "felt" being healed but are not really healed. And there are incidents where the on-spot doctors have given false reports of the healings having taken place.
The famed healing of "Evander holyfield" that is paraded around by hinn every now and then was not a healing after all as it came out later. Holyfield himself says that there wasn't even anything to heal about his heart, so there is no chance of a healing taking place.
And yes, one's own personnel interspersed among the crowd isn't out of the consideration too.
This is why I'm sceptical of such healers. Why do they claim something if only 100 people out of crowd of 10000 get healed. That makes it just a 1% success rate(even if we consider that all of them really got healed). What makes them (and the followers) assume that they did it.
Atleast, we thinking individuals shouldn't give in to this kind of insane drama....
My birthday
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Hey Guys, today is my birthday and guess what my orkut fortune says:
Today's fortune:
You are next in line for promotion in your firm.:)
Kudos to the Indian judiciary
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Finally, an act that proves that justice is still alive....
Rahul and Amit awarded life sentences.
NEWSRahul and Amit, who? Rahul and Amit, the prime accused in the MAMC rape case. In the words of justice Chander Shekhar
“Murder destroys the physical frame of the victim. But a rapist degrades the soul of a helpless female, in consequence whereupon the victim suffers and dies everyday. The convicts have been held guilty of committing gangrape on an unmarried helpless girl who was a medical student. Such act of bestiality deserves stringent punishment. They do not deserve any mercy and have to be given exemplary punishment so that it acts as a deterrent to others also.”
The verdict might have taken two years to come but it came nevertheless and in quite appropriate proportions too. Some people might have said that those sickening criminals should have been hanged instead, but I say that this is a worse punishment for them. They'll live out their entire life, burdened with guilt, enduring the rigours of the prison, and repenting over the henious act they committed. Yeah, a death sentence would have been like an easy acquittal.
I hope that this verdict results in lesser Rahuls and Amits.....
Friday, January 14, 2005
I think all of us can relate to the predicament of asok (the one with the paper in his hand)
A new dimension to racism??(update)
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Yesterday I read it in the newspaper and today I heard this clip on net
http://www.edrants.com/_mp3/Power99_Call_to_India.mp3.
This is the infamous call made by a radio jockey in US to a call center in India. Read about it
here.
This is a post that was made on our internal newsgroup:
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Hello AllWe all know that lots of calls are outsourced to India by majoy MNC in US. Here is a link to audio clip which is from theradio jockeys Star and Buc Wild's show. http://www.edrants.com/_mp3/Power99_Call_to_India.mp3There is apparently a campaign against suchoutsourcing and some people are encouraging others to spend 20 min of time of the day to give such kind of callsto thecall centers inIndia and thwart such initiatives by MNC's.--------
I ask what is this?
Is the whites v/s non-whites rearing its head again?
Am too stumped at this stupid outburst of hate to comment anything more. Please take a look at the clip and just ponder over whats happening....
Update: One of my colleagues wrote a mail to the GM of WUSL-FM regarding the matter. Here is the transcript of the mail and the reply:
Hi Sir,
> I would like to say something in context of recent Controversy that
> is erupted on abusing Indian
> call center worker by your RJ
> Through I do know that outsource wave is let to resentment in
> US for the same. We all know,
> per dollar saved on outsource ultimately help developed world only to
> focus their resource on advance
> Technology. It is different matter , the cycle of change takes time. If
> today it is flip flop based computers
> Tomorrow it can be nano-technology based machines that will help making
> more MNCs from US .
> Making this outsource resentment as laughing matter
> /Abusing lady by your man
> is highly regrettable matter. I am sure taking feeling of large population
> feelings. You will do the needful to
> not to repeat such act again. Better Mr Troi Torain make public apology to
> the lady in question. That will be
> gentle-man act on his part.
>
> Regards
>
> Gagandeep
Reply:
Dear Gagandeep:
Thank you for your email, i wanted to response quickly as your email popped up
as I was checking my inbox this morning.
Please accept my apology for the use of the language you referenced in your
email.
All of us at WUSL-FM do not condone the use of offensive language in any form,
on or off-air. This situation has been discussed with the people in question,
the on-air hosts have apologized and been suspended, and I am confident nothing
of this nature will happen again, so I do feel the level of action taken is
warranted. I have also reprimanded the staff and reminded them that posting
such material on our station's Web site is not acceptable and will not happen
again. I sincerely regret any discomfort this may have caused you or any
friends and family. WUSL-FM (POWER-99), for many years, has been synonymous
with being a helpful resource for our listeners and offering a great radio
station to listen to, and my goal is to continue to build on that. Again I
apologize to you personally for this and I understand your point of view.
Gagandeep, I do appreciate your taking the time to let me know your thoughts
and I hope you have a wonderful day.
Richard Lewis
RVP & Market Manager
Philadelphia, PA
Apple launches iPod Shuffle
It may be smaller than a pack of gum, but
this baby packs in a lot of punch.At less than 150$ (about 6500 IRS), it doubles as one of the most amazing MP3 payers in the world and also as a 1 GB USB drive. A great deal all in all.
Just take a look at some of the features:
- weighs only .78 of an ounce
- Run, jump or shimmy down to skip-free playback
- Enjoy up to 12 hours of continuous playback
- Play MP3, AAC and audiobooks
All u guys in love with technology and music, go get it.
PS: The apple site lists a warning/suggestion on its page which goes like this:
- Music capacity is based on 4 minutes per song and 128Kbps AAC encoding
- "Do not eat iPod shuffle
"
Mogambo ab khush nahin hoga....
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Its a shock to hear that our dear old next door villain is no more.
The guy who single handedly revolutionalized the role of vilains in the Indian Cinema has left for the heavenly abode...
The best thing I liked about him was the intensity with which he performed, no matter what the scene demanded, monstrosity of the devil or the love of a father.
His eyes had such power that one look from was all that was needed to keep u riveted to the seats in anticipation of another great performance.
How can I forget the shivers that went down my spine as i saw him, as a little child, laugh in "Mr. India".
How can I forget the roles he played in DDLJ, Hero...
Indian Cinema has lost a true actor, a true star.....
I salute u "Mr. Mogambo" and I wish that your soul rests in ultimate peace and happiness.
The beginning of a new era...
or is it the return of the Emperor???
Well, actually this is about the change of the catering service at my company's cafeteria. For too much time now, we all have been cribbing and cribbing about the quality of the food that the caterer dishes out to us. But to no avail, that is, until now.
Initially, the atmosphere was almost ecstatic when we heard that the caterer's being changed but there hung a pause of uncertainty as soon as the name of the new one was declared. This new one is the guy that was removed a couple of years earlier due to "poor quality" of food.
Am keeping my fingers crossed that the new caterer doesn't cross my stomach out.....
Pray for me, guys.
And yeah, may be put in a few words for my colleagues too...:-)
Food for thought...
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Just came across this somewhere...
Guys, just a small thing for you to ponder upon...
Many a man in love with a dimple makes the mistake of marrying the whole girl. --Stephen Leacock
Whats in a name...
"What's in a name?" Shakespeare said...
Well, there is a lot....
Since Rupert Murdoch's News Corp sold off their stake in my company Hughes Software Systems to Flextronics, this was inevitable. Yes, a change in the name of the company.
The board has approved a new name of Flextronics Software Systems (FSS). Although everything, including the complete management, remains the same but just a change in the name brings about a strange feeling in the hearts of the employees.
Till now, it was common matter to be instantly treated with respect whenever I told someone in the city that I worked for HSS. But whos gonna know whats FSS. It might be just another call center for all they know. I know I may be over reacting but it feels like I'm losing a big part of my identity.
Neways, one thing in this change is for good. Now I don't have to try to correct others' pronunciation. Till now, I've heard all sorts of variations by people in pronouncing "Hughes" ranging from "Heu-jes", "Hajes", and, believe it or not, even "huggies". Hopefully that won't be the case with Flextronics.
saw...
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Yesterday, I saw saw.
You: Huh?Wadda ya mean?
Oh, I should have said, "Yesterday, I saw "saw"".
Still confused?
Well, how abt this. Yesterday I saw "saw", the movie.
Well, can't tell u how frustrated I am right now.
IMDB gives this a rating of 7.4/10.
Tagline of the movie: Every piece has a puzzle
So, I go on and spend 2 hours of my precious time in downloading this 1 GB of crap off the net.
The starting is OK types. One does get a bit curious.
But Mr. director has other plans.
Plans to fizzle out all ur curiosity. After "jhelo"ing this 1.5 hr monster, u take solace in the ending which has a mild surprising element. But thats all there is to this movie.
u r probably trying to find atleast a hint of a good reason behind making this post. Well, there is none.
The sadist in me is cheering me up as u r reading this, tearing apart ur hair in frustration...
So, thank you, sucker....
<Monstrous laughter>Ha ha ha ha...ha ha ha ha</Monstrous Laughter>
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PS:This is the part where u say exclaim:"HUH?Whatever!!" and move on...
back....just a regular update
Monday, January 03, 2005
hi guys...am back from the holidays....
didn't have that much fun as i had expected. more than half of the parties at chandigarh were cancelled. and major areas (like lake) were closed down.
neways, over the weekend had fun with my project team at the lodhi gardens followed by some "community" pool and bowling at essex farms. And yes, the kiddy bit was brought to the fore again when we all jumped into those bouncing cars game, shrieking and bouncing into each other. it was so much fun that we are already planning to have a kiddy party next weekend...
chalo thats all for now.
gotta see "saw". just downloaded it off the net. the ratings are quite good for the movie. will write a review soon.
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