'B' as in ball

At lunch time I decided to order food over the phone. The lady at the other end quite presumably asian asked for my name and thats when the fun started.
For some strange when I say 'Pradyot' some people hear 'Bra..whatever I lost u'.
So I started to spell out my name the usual P as in Paul R as in razor etc.
Now this has never happened to me. The lady at the other end repeats 'B' as in Ball . After screamin 'P' enuf times to attract attention at work, I quitely handed over the phone to my chinese co-worked who procceded to tell the lady my name. And this time she did'nt have to spell it out.

So you like to Sudoku

Well here are some free online sudoku puzzles that you can print out.

For programmers only

And for those who think they are programmers as well.

Victims of B61 unite.

Consider this as an option walk in the cold for a little over 20mins or wait for the bus in the cold for 10mins. There is no winning here. Should you choose to walk after exactly 10 mins when u are half way home , the bus whizzes past you. Should you choose to wait the bus will unfailingly show up after half an hour, which means that you have not only frozen ur b*#$s off but you are also kicking yourself for not having walked.
You have to salute the B61 the bus route in question that never follows any other pattern.
The tardiness of MTA finally pissed me off enough to ask the bus driver how come the bus was half an hour late. Instead of a half decent reponse he retorts how do u know i am not on my schedule. As would be expected from any arrogant and uncaring government employee. We got into a shouting match which ended in the only way possible, with him asking me to get off the bus if I did'nt stop talking. I did get off after getting close enough. Hey I did'nt want him driving past my bus stop when i rang the bell now did I?

White Water rafting in Ocee River

I took my time posting this one considering that it was taken during the Labor day weekend. But can u really blame me? You can't even see my face. I have the black shirt on with the face turned away.

New Jersey: It's cheaper than New York ....

When I first started working in NYC, my residence was over in New Jersey. The commute to work was 45 mins and it seemed to make a lot of sense since you did'nt have to pay City tax unlike NYC. But I always noted the kind of caste system that existed. Manhattanite's looked down upon everyone else and city dweller's in general frowned upon New Jersey. Quite likely the reputation was undeserved. In order to promote New Jersey, Gov. Cody decided to have a slogan contest. Here were some of the pearls that emerged.
"New Jersey: Got a problem With that?"
"Come to New Jersey -- Its not as bad as it smells"
"New Jersey we tax the $#!@ out of you"
"New Jersey and you going broke Together"
"You're from New Jersey What exit"
When I forwarded this story to friends another gem emerged. A collaborative effort between my friends Parth vasa and Deepak Rao.
"New Jersey , Its Cheaper than New York, But it still ain't worth it."
Lets see you come up with a better one.

Rage against the ipod

As technology makes it easier for us to connect to others, are we ending up isolating ourselves even further?
This thought crossed my mind recently. Anywhere you go in New York u see people with an ipod, the two most common places would be the gym and the subway. I imagine most new yorkers spend a large part of their non-working/non-sleeping hours at either of these two places. One would imagine that any place where many individuals congregate would be a place where individuals communicate. But the ipod ensures that most people come to the gym , leave the gym without having uttered a single world to anyone(yeah I know that's what gym buddies are for).
Throw isn't the personal TV's attatched to every cardio machine, and there is absolutely no reason to glance at someone else.
The subway is no better. I have found myself in the subway, listening to music and reading a magazine simultaneously as do so many others. Shutting out the rest of the world.
What about the days when I don't carry a magazine or a cd player? I look around and then immediately look away when met with a blank stare.
I feel almost scared of looking at someone lest they take offense. I wonder why its so hard to even smile at someone.
There was an interesting take on technology I read sometime back. Referring to the internet mostly, I am paraphrasing,:"technology has made it easier to connect and also easier to isolate oneself. Ultimately it just accentuates our basic tendencies.

Cindrella Man Premiere

This was taken at the prmiere of Cindrella Man starring Russel Crowe. I am posing next to a mock newspaper stand with newspapers extolling the virtues of the protagonist Jim Braddock. I can't believe I screwed this photo up. But ah well, u have to work with what you have.
 
 

Hilarious poem

This is what I consider a hilarious poem by my good friend Anoop Kulkarni. See if you agree. I feel compelled to add that, as I performed a spell check, the spell checker in all its wisdom suggested that I replace 'Anoop' with 'amoeba' , I decided to resist that temptation however strong.
How about cake: I wanna play tag tag

A public service announcement

For all those many legions who read my blog(1 or 2 if u insist on the numbers), I would like to make a humble suggestion. Try to avoid the use of plastic when and where possible. Try taking along a cloth bag to shop, lunch in a brown bag, refill water bottles from the water fountain etc. No amount of reading urging etc will change people's behavior. It hits you when it hits you. Isn't it time to do our bit for the planet?

Quite right Vijay

This is response to my friend Vijay leaving a comment on my last post. Vijay's point is that I am being harsh when it comes to saying let the Pakistani's look after their own after their earthquake, while India sits on the sidelines. Yes it is harsh but it has a basis. The Pakistani Leaderships mindset can be ascertained from one famous statement that Zulfikar Bhutto made when he was PM. "We will eat grass, but we will make the bomb."
Rather than looking after the well being of their people they want to buy bigger and better guns to beat India with. I know this is a great diplomatic opportunity.(not to speak of the humanitarian or moral aspect)
But do we really want the money we give them to end up as bullets in Indian bodies? or rdx in delhi's bazaar's? In an ideal world India would help Pakistan and we'd become friends. Do u really see that happening?

Don't repeat past wrongs

The recent earthequake that hit Kashmir(both Indian and Pakistani parts) has caused enought devastation on the Pakistani side to make the Pakistani President complain about the rate at which international monies are pouring for rebuilding and reconstruction. His estimates of $5 billion will not draw any challenge from me. What I'd like to say however , is that India must avoid the temptation of rushing in with any commitment for the reconstruction effort. I'd take an educated guess that any money we give Pakistan will be used to buy weapons to be used against us and to fund their unholy war(How any war can be holy escapes me). Humanitarian supplies is one thing , money is a whole different thing. A nuclear power state should have the wherewital to generate resources for its own reconstruction. One thing is for sure, that money is'nt coming frm the US, already stretched by Iraq,Afganistan and Katrina. Lets see wether they can maintain their aggresive postures while their countrymen live out in the open this bitter winter.

A typical Indian Riot

I was reading reports about rioting in the North Indian town of Mau. One thing that struck me , was the description. "Violence erupted between two communities". talk about stating the obvious. In their effort to be politically correct the reports end up looking ridiculous. When there is a riot in India, everybody with half a brain knows its between hindus and muslims. What we don't know is who started it. I concede such information can be deemed inflammatory, and can be suppressed . But for heaven's sake don't insult our intelligence by giving us the "two communities" spiel. My solution, look up the same report in a foreign paper, they are not burdened by any such considerations and usually call a spade a spade.

Katrina and the Quake

A friend pointed out lately, a large number of natural disasters have hit various parts of the world. From the Tsunami to hurricane Katrina and now the Earthquake in South Asia, it would seem that nature has unleashed its full fury on us. How do we deal with the level of destruction and loss ? We try and rationalise in our own inane ways.
If there is one thing that stands out, nature's fury spares none. Niether religion nor color niether caste nor creed assuress any protecton from the elements at their worst. If anything we must realise the larger challenges we face as mankind do not leave us the luxury of our "civilisational struggles".
Unfortunately common sense is not as common. When i first heard about the devastation casued by the earthquake mostly in Pakistan occupied Kashmir(or as the pakistani's call it Azad Kashmir) my first reaction(I am not proud of it) was hmm how come I don't hear any Al Quaeda spokespersons attributing the earthquake to divine retribution as they had Hurricane Katrina?
How wrong was I. Ofcourse the Jihadi's are saying that the Earthquake is punishment for pulling back from the brink in confronting India. Such justifcations however twisted will find supporters in a populace that has been radicalised for years. The Jihadi organizations have been at the forefront of providing relief to the victims of the earthquake. If they have such regard for human life , why do they then show such ruthlessness and singlemindedness in erasing it when they cross the border into India? Sadly it because they view non-muslims as unworthy of considerations they would extend to fellow muslims. I know moderate and forward looking muslims will condemn such radicals. But thats not enough. You don't treat cancer by condemning it.
Its time for all of us to stop pussyfooting about a problem we all know exists.

I find that odd..

Most would have read about the earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale that struck the northern reaches of the Indian state of Jammu and Kasmir and The Pakistani portion of Kashmir. The quake had its epicenter at Muzaffarabadd the capital of the Pakistani part. But considering the proximity of the area to the India part I find it rather odd , that the toll reported from the Pakistanis side is rising on a daily basis now said to be 30,000+ dead, whereas the Indian side has kept the figure under a 1,000. Surely one of the sides is being economical with the truth. So who is it? The Indians? But then what to they have to gain? The pakistani's ? More relief materials maybe? Something does'nt add up.
POK (Pak occupied kashmir known to Pakistani's as Azad Kashmir(a misnormer if there waws any, since Azad means free. Kinda reminds u of Operation Iraqi freedom don't it)) is known to house a lot of the terrorist training camps. Wonder what impact that fact has on the way things pan out in the next few weeks or months.

Not a bad neighborhood

 
 

This happens only in India

Most people are hypocrites, its only natural. Howvever its certainly a question of degrees. There is nothing that gets my goat worse then hypocrisy. Just as the Government of Maharashtra was busy shutting down dance bars when they should have been unclogging the gutters in Bombay, now we have the TN government clamping down on a Hotel where some idiot journalist snapped a couple kissing. For a second consider the newsworthiness of a lip lock between 2 random people. Now ask yourself wether there are'nt other important matters that the government has to attend to. Whatever your opinion on diplays of affection in public, surely you see the futility of such reprehensible moral policing. What kind of society do we want to live in. One where the police determines what show of affection is appropriate? One where girls are made to feel sinful just to be seen with a guy. If the moralists have a way to live let them preach it, let them convince people. But let them not coerce. Coercion should have no place in a democracy. And oh yeah we know what sex is how do u think we got to a billion, singing songs , or letting the birds and bees do the job for us?

That's Funny ..

I had a ACL reconstruction surgery Sept 7th. I'll write in detail about the recovery later. I have been on crutches and a brace(that is locked when I walk) for the last couple of weeks. In that period people have mostly asked questions like what happened and the like. Most have made sympateitc sounds as you might expect. But the funniest thing that anyone has said to me was "Run Forrest Run".

Who should be captain?

Indian cricket is going through a rather rough patch right now. Part of it has to do with the captain coach controversy ongoing between Saurav Ganguly and Greg Chappel.
A lot of this has to do with the unique position a captain enjoys in cricket. In most other sports major decisions are left to the coach on the sidelines. These range from strategic decisions to team composition. Cricket up until now has been different since the captain has such an on field role in terms of bowling changes , field placements etc. However players with on field ear pieces being given instructions by the coach can remedy that. The arguments in favor of this are many. Why burden a singlre individual with so much responsibility when he is also responsible for his own play. Not every captain suffers a slump in personal form on taking over the captaincy mantel. But there are enough who do , to warrant this change. Maybe Hansie had it right along. This will allow each team to always present thier most balanced side rahter than worry about wether they were making a long term change each time they felt tempted to leave out the captain for a lack of form.

Damn it when did u get so slow

For those struggling with an ever slower computer, my suggestion is fork out the dough and buy a new one. But till that glorious day arrives u can get by on these tips.

Speed Up your Comp