Nice video from BBC documenting the Solar eclipse as seen from various parts of Asia. Loved it.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Recession101 :)
I found this nice video explaining how the current economic collapse is related to the falldown of the US credit and housing sector. Enjoy!
The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Cloud reflectivity enhancement - a technology that might just save our planet after all
From the start of this decade, scientists have started working seriously and investors have been putting handsome money towards alternative research techniques that will help the current Gloabal Warming scenario on Planet Earth. A number of techniques or solutions are being proposed. One of them, which basically attempts to increase the "albedo", or "reflectivity" of the clouds surrounding us, really caught my attention. The beauty of the concept lies in its simple yet effective nature. And if data has to be believed, its pretty cost effective too!
So what is this technique we are talking about here? To understand the theory, lets first try to understand a little bit of science involving the clouds. We all know that water from oceans and streams and rivers evaporate and rise up and finally form clouds. As the water content in these clouds reach a certain limit, they come down back to earth as rain. What not all of us know is that for the transition the vapour state to liquid state (the clouds are nothing but water droplets), water requires a non-gaseous surface. In the earths's atmosphere, this required surface is present in what the scientists refer to as Cloud Condensation Nuclei, or CCN. A typical cloud droplet is about 2 mm is diameter, whereas a typical CCN is about 0.02 mm in diameter.
Without the presence of CCN, the water vapor needs to be supercooled below 0 °C for cloud droplets to form. And on temperatures above 0 °C, the air needs to be supersaturated to above 400% humidty for the water droplets to form.
As you can understand, the higher the presence of CCN in the atmosphere, the more congenial it is for the formation of clouds. Usually, sea salt from the ocean, dust, soot and black carbon emitted from emitted from forest fire act as CCN. In regions where air pollution levels are high due to the presence of dust, soot or carbon particles in the air, the phenomenon results in dense haze. People in Delhi for example, experience that abundantly.
This concept of CCN are being used these days in a technique called Cloud Seeding, where scientists try to encourage rainfall by increasing the CCN concentration of the atmosphere, thereby encouraging cloud formation. The technique is also used these days by geo-engineers to increase the reflective capability of the clouds. Usually in the oceans,lower levels of dust and pollution results in a CCN concentration which is much lesser compared to land. The idea is to have small vessels spray sea water to the atmosphere . As the water evaporates, they form salt particles which acts as CCN.
It has been estimated that around 1.4 billion tonnes of sea water is required to be sprayed each year to raise our planets reflectivity to a level which will be able to compensate the current global warming.
Stephen Salter, professor of engineering design at the University Edinburgh, and Professor John Latham, from the National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Colorado are the minds behind the salt water spray strategy. According to Prof Salter, we need to raise the refelectivity level by atleast 10%. Small vessels like the one shown alongside are being proposed for the purpose of spraying salt water across the oceans of the World.
There are, however, much more tests and experiments needs to conducted for everyone to be convinced about the effectiveness of this geo-engineering technique. Not every one is convinced that this is a fool proof technique to combat or even reverse the effects of the high level of Carbon emissions on our planet. There are concerns that by artificially altering the clouds, we may create harmfull effects on our planet's delicate eco system. Lastly, it is not clear that the land areas of our planet will experience the cooling effect.
Whatever may be the concerns, most geo-engineers are sure that Cloud Reflectivity Enhancement will definitely slow down the severe global warming our Mother Earth is facing.
So what is this technique we are talking about here? To understand the theory, lets first try to understand a little bit of science involving the clouds. We all know that water from oceans and streams and rivers evaporate and rise up and finally form clouds. As the water content in these clouds reach a certain limit, they come down back to earth as rain. What not all of us know is that for the transition the vapour state to liquid state (the clouds are nothing but water droplets), water requires a non-gaseous surface. In the earths's atmosphere, this required surface is present in what the scientists refer to as Cloud Condensation Nuclei, or CCN. A typical cloud droplet is about 2 mm is diameter, whereas a typical CCN is about 0.02 mm in diameter.
Without the presence of CCN, the water vapor needs to be supercooled below 0 °C for cloud droplets to form. And on temperatures above 0 °C, the air needs to be supersaturated to above 400% humidty for the water droplets to form.
As you can understand, the higher the presence of CCN in the atmosphere, the more congenial it is for the formation of clouds. Usually, sea salt from the ocean, dust, soot and black carbon emitted from emitted from forest fire act as CCN. In regions where air pollution levels are high due to the presence of dust, soot or carbon particles in the air, the phenomenon results in dense haze. People in Delhi for example, experience that abundantly.
This concept of CCN are being used these days in a technique called Cloud Seeding, where scientists try to encourage rainfall by increasing the CCN concentration of the atmosphere, thereby encouraging cloud formation. The technique is also used these days by geo-engineers to increase the reflective capability of the clouds. Usually in the oceans,lower levels of dust and pollution results in a CCN concentration which is much lesser compared to land. The idea is to have small vessels spray sea water to the atmosphere . As the water evaporates, they form salt particles which acts as CCN.
It has been estimated that around 1.4 billion tonnes of sea water is required to be sprayed each year to raise our planets reflectivity to a level which will be able to compensate the current global warming.
Stephen Salter, professor of engineering design at the University Edinburgh, and Professor John Latham, from the National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Colorado are the minds behind the salt water spray strategy. According to Prof Salter, we need to raise the refelectivity level by atleast 10%. Small vessels like the one shown alongside are being proposed for the purpose of spraying salt water across the oceans of the World.
There are, however, much more tests and experiments needs to conducted for everyone to be convinced about the effectiveness of this geo-engineering technique. Not every one is convinced that this is a fool proof technique to combat or even reverse the effects of the high level of Carbon emissions on our planet. There are concerns that by artificially altering the clouds, we may create harmfull effects on our planet's delicate eco system. Lastly, it is not clear that the land areas of our planet will experience the cooling effect.
Whatever may be the concerns, most geo-engineers are sure that Cloud Reflectivity Enhancement will definitely slow down the severe global warming our Mother Earth is facing.
Friday, May 1, 2009
May Day! May Day! May Day! Bulds is here.. B Aware!!
Once upon a time, in a hot sultry town called Kolkata, there used to be this handsome dude who was known to his friends by the name of Bulds. He was a kind person, a person who can not even kill the mosquito who would bit him right on his neck.
Anyways, this kind, harmless guy had a fetish for the golden brown colored liquid which is popular by the name of BEER. He admitted openly, that he was living on BEER. Observers had observed that he consumed fruits and raw vegetables on weekdays at office. Whereas over the weekends, he would easily gobble down 2 large bottles of beer (source: his friends and his house maid). People would not have bothered much though. But the problem was that this kind dude would start talking non stop after consuming all those gallons of beer. Now, you might be wondering what is the big deal in that, isn't it? Just keep on nodding to whatever he said and he would fall asleep anyways. But it was not so simple task. The problem was, he would keep on pushing you to give comments on the thoughts he would be murmuring. And he would get really annoyed if he did not get a proper comment. He would not fall asleep fast either. So you would better be a really patient listener or a big drinker yourself to combat that situation.
People close to him were slowly developing the necessary skills to tackle the "Drunken Bulds" situation. But then, this kind, soft spoken dude started having one more problem. When drunk, he started feeling a world full of love towards people around him. Dudes are not that well accustomed to much affection from fellow dudes. So they really had no answer as to how they would handle this new crisis in their lives. Frankly speaking, they were kinda rattled..
Initially the general consensus was that it was a passing phase. That Bulds will soon realize that his buddies were not deserving enough for the excessive affection he was bestowing on them. No matter how much he wished they were, they would still be the same hairy and dirty dudes. But there were no signs of improvement. The heat of humidity was making things more difficult to control for his friends. I meant the anger and frustration, in case you are wondering some thing else.
Lately however, the buzz is that things are looking better. Last week, Bulds and Co. had a frank discussion on the matter. Bulds realized his flaw and was apparently very apologetic about it.
After a long session, problem was sorted out. Bulds friends have agreed that he can keep on wearing the same annoying yellow T-Shirt as much as he likes. Bulds has promised that he will try to behave himself from now on.
Last week, The gang was seen partying again in "Some Place Else" and other joints in Park Street, Kolkata. They have even started hanging around at his home again. God Bless this friendship..!! :)
Anyways, this kind, harmless guy had a fetish for the golden brown colored liquid which is popular by the name of BEER. He admitted openly, that he was living on BEER. Observers had observed that he consumed fruits and raw vegetables on weekdays at office. Whereas over the weekends, he would easily gobble down 2 large bottles of beer (source: his friends and his house maid). People would not have bothered much though. But the problem was that this kind dude would start talking non stop after consuming all those gallons of beer. Now, you might be wondering what is the big deal in that, isn't it? Just keep on nodding to whatever he said and he would fall asleep anyways. But it was not so simple task. The problem was, he would keep on pushing you to give comments on the thoughts he would be murmuring. And he would get really annoyed if he did not get a proper comment. He would not fall asleep fast either. So you would better be a really patient listener or a big drinker yourself to combat that situation.
People close to him were slowly developing the necessary skills to tackle the "Drunken Bulds" situation. But then, this kind, soft spoken dude started having one more problem. When drunk, he started feeling a world full of love towards people around him. Dudes are not that well accustomed to much affection from fellow dudes. So they really had no answer as to how they would handle this new crisis in their lives. Frankly speaking, they were kinda rattled..
Initially the general consensus was that it was a passing phase. That Bulds will soon realize that his buddies were not deserving enough for the excessive affection he was bestowing on them. No matter how much he wished they were, they would still be the same hairy and dirty dudes. But there were no signs of improvement. The heat of humidity was making things more difficult to control for his friends. I meant the anger and frustration, in case you are wondering some thing else.
Lately however, the buzz is that things are looking better. Last week, Bulds and Co. had a frank discussion on the matter. Bulds realized his flaw and was apparently very apologetic about it.
After a long session, problem was sorted out. Bulds friends have agreed that he can keep on wearing the same annoying yellow T-Shirt as much as he likes. Bulds has promised that he will try to behave himself from now on.
Last week, The gang was seen partying again in "Some Place Else" and other joints in Park Street, Kolkata. They have even started hanging around at his home again. God Bless this friendship..!! :)
Friday, April 10, 2009
Time for a little introspection
The "less-hectic" life continues. Yeah, life is still going on in a controlled way. I seem to have controlled the work at office, at least for the time being. Return of senior leads from Japan has helped tons. At least now I can discuss problems and work estimations with people who will be able to appreciate and understand the finer details involved.
So here I was, on a nice shining morning at Bangalore. It was a Good Friday. We have a long weekend off. Just what I wanted. I do not understand why I was not allowed to take my leave now, though. There are very minimal pressure at work these days and I could have easily gone home for that one week break. Strangely, I have asked to take it on the last week of April. I am kind of worried about the level of pressure I will be under then. I really need the break, you now. I have become home sick, big time. The last time I was like this was in the autumn of 2007. I was away from home for 10 months. This time its been six months, but it feels like I have been away for over a year.
Two of my room mates left for Kolkata this morning though. Last night we had a great time. It was a kind of party, stuffs like this happen whenever we go off to our home town. Poppins was at the receiving end of the fun though. Apparently his girl friend will pick him up at the airport. The guy missed dinner and he wanted us to bring some milk for him. We kinda saw the lighter part of that food choice you know! Guys will be guys :)
This morning I made two new friends. I am really happy to meet these two guys. This post is more about them than any thing else - Sudipta and Bhaskar. Yes they are bongs at bangalore. These two guys are from kolkata. Friends for last 7 years. They have done their graduations in Economics from colleges in Kolkata which I must admit, I have never heard about. They did not manage to get first class either. Both admitted frankly that they never liked studies and they never had the passion for it. They just ensured that they manage to get the degree somehow. Anyone who is from my part of the world can imagine how tough it is for a "barely-passed" economic graduate to get a job these days. The odds are really really slim.
What did they do? Sudipto knew that he has to get into the computers. It is where the bucks lie. So he had been doing some part time job at the Kolkata HP centre all through his college life. He was earning 3-4 grand those days. He would use that money to pay college fees and enjoy every single Bangla band show at the Najrul Mancha. After college he did training on Computer Hardware at IIHT, a renowned training centre at kolkata. Once done, he used his references at HP to get a job at HP service centre Bangalore. He even referenced his best friend Bhaskar at the same office. Both are now doing a stable job here. Sudipto has even managed to bag a laptop as appreciation from HP because of his hard work. They are earning anywhere between 10-15 grand a month. Not a lot but a lot lot more than they would have earned
a) had they not thought out of the box.
b) had they not dared to come to Bangalore.
Bhaskar's father for instance, apparently earns about 5grand a month.
I was really happy, actually glad to meet these two folks. This is how you live your life. You know what your limitations are, you do whatever best you can within the limits. You work hard, you work honest, you do whatever you need to do to make a life out of your existence. I see Sudipto and Bhaskar staying a 10 by 7 room. I do not see any frustration, any "I miss my home" syndrome, any "this is killing me" syndrome. I see dreams in their eyes. I see an honest approach in their eyes, they want to have a comfortable life, they are going to make it through their hard work, they are going to do whatever it takes to reach there.
I could not help but think of my college mates at kolkata. Nutu, Buldi, Sndp, Nyaba.. all so talented. All so well educated. All of them could have done so much to their career here at Bangalore. They decided not to venture out of their comfort zone. No one wanted to fight it out. They all just did not want to push themselves. It was all so disturbing. Buldi chased a girl, whatever he says, I know it was the main reason why he wanted to go. That girl married a guy whom her parents choose for her. You can love a person more than you, but to that person you may not exist. Poor bulu learnt that lesson.. in the most unfortunate way possible.. He got into this Devdas mode (guys will be guys!). It took a lot of effort from Sndp, Prat and me to get him out of his negative mode. He seems to have gained stability. Sndp is still holding on to his H1B dreams. I hope he gets through the lottery and eventually gets his papers signed.. unlike me, who, even after qualifying in the lottery, got his papers hold back. Nutu is getting married this june. As Shubham says, he is from a different galaxy altogether. He is not from Milky Way. All he cares is about eating his rice, daal and bengali style fish curry in peace. Stop him from eating fish for 2 days, he will go lunatic. Nyaba.. well.. I dunno.. he was supposed to get an onsite for 2 months which did not happen. I really dunno what are his plans. He is still a kid.
I dont know where we all be after five years. Me, Shubham, Poppins, Den2 have taken a path which totally different from the path of the others I mentioned above. I really dont know whether we will be able to conclude who took the right decision. Me and Shubham keep discussing, that may be we are missing the finer joys of life. We are missing the long addas at our home town. I miss being taken care by my parents, I miss being near to them. I miss the long walks at college street, searching for books. I miss the christmas eve at Park Street. I miss drinking beer with all those buddies at kolkata. I miss the heated political discussions over a cup of tea. I wish I had all that. I wish allowed all those little pieces of fun. Bangalore does not give me all these. But Bangalore has given me something else. You know what is the most important thing Bangalore gives? It supplies fuel. It supplies fuel for the dreams of all the ordinary students like me, sudipto and bhaskar. People like me, who despite being a non-IIT engineer can actually get to work in developing eNBs for 4G telecomm technology like LTE. Whereas most of my college mates are either doing some stupid maintenance work on Mainframes, or writing some SQL query which even a class 7 student can write, given proper training. Shubham is already making it big, working at Freescale, one of the topmost semiconductor companies around. Bangalore allows people like Sudipto and Bhaskar, who are far far away from proper computer degree to earn a salary which is already double of what their parents used to earn. I am sure in 4-5 years, these two blokes will earn anything around 50 grand a month. Now that is some achievement. Their college mates will not earn that even after 10 years of their job, if and when they get it.
Success, Right, Wrong are very much relative terms. I would be really happy if bulu is happy about his decisions in the years to come. I would hate to think that I took a wrong decision as well. Something tells me though, both groups will not be happy. Anyways, what the heck.. lets earn money for now na? :) Lets keep the pursuit for happiness alive..!! I am sure we will all have a story to tell in five years anyhow!
So here I was, on a nice shining morning at Bangalore. It was a Good Friday. We have a long weekend off. Just what I wanted. I do not understand why I was not allowed to take my leave now, though. There are very minimal pressure at work these days and I could have easily gone home for that one week break. Strangely, I have asked to take it on the last week of April. I am kind of worried about the level of pressure I will be under then. I really need the break, you now. I have become home sick, big time. The last time I was like this was in the autumn of 2007. I was away from home for 10 months. This time its been six months, but it feels like I have been away for over a year.
Two of my room mates left for Kolkata this morning though. Last night we had a great time. It was a kind of party, stuffs like this happen whenever we go off to our home town. Poppins was at the receiving end of the fun though. Apparently his girl friend will pick him up at the airport. The guy missed dinner and he wanted us to bring some milk for him. We kinda saw the lighter part of that food choice you know! Guys will be guys :)
This morning I made two new friends. I am really happy to meet these two guys. This post is more about them than any thing else - Sudipta and Bhaskar. Yes they are bongs at bangalore. These two guys are from kolkata. Friends for last 7 years. They have done their graduations in Economics from colleges in Kolkata which I must admit, I have never heard about. They did not manage to get first class either. Both admitted frankly that they never liked studies and they never had the passion for it. They just ensured that they manage to get the degree somehow. Anyone who is from my part of the world can imagine how tough it is for a "barely-passed" economic graduate to get a job these days. The odds are really really slim.
What did they do? Sudipto knew that he has to get into the computers. It is where the bucks lie. So he had been doing some part time job at the Kolkata HP centre all through his college life. He was earning 3-4 grand those days. He would use that money to pay college fees and enjoy every single Bangla band show at the Najrul Mancha. After college he did training on Computer Hardware at IIHT, a renowned training centre at kolkata. Once done, he used his references at HP to get a job at HP service centre Bangalore. He even referenced his best friend Bhaskar at the same office. Both are now doing a stable job here. Sudipto has even managed to bag a laptop as appreciation from HP because of his hard work. They are earning anywhere between 10-15 grand a month. Not a lot but a lot lot more than they would have earned
a) had they not thought out of the box.
b) had they not dared to come to Bangalore.
Bhaskar's father for instance, apparently earns about 5grand a month.
I was really happy, actually glad to meet these two folks. This is how you live your life. You know what your limitations are, you do whatever best you can within the limits. You work hard, you work honest, you do whatever you need to do to make a life out of your existence. I see Sudipto and Bhaskar staying a 10 by 7 room. I do not see any frustration, any "I miss my home" syndrome, any "this is killing me" syndrome. I see dreams in their eyes. I see an honest approach in their eyes, they want to have a comfortable life, they are going to make it through their hard work, they are going to do whatever it takes to reach there.
I could not help but think of my college mates at kolkata. Nutu, Buldi, Sndp, Nyaba.. all so talented. All so well educated. All of them could have done so much to their career here at Bangalore. They decided not to venture out of their comfort zone. No one wanted to fight it out. They all just did not want to push themselves. It was all so disturbing. Buldi chased a girl, whatever he says, I know it was the main reason why he wanted to go. That girl married a guy whom her parents choose for her. You can love a person more than you, but to that person you may not exist. Poor bulu learnt that lesson.. in the most unfortunate way possible.. He got into this Devdas mode (guys will be guys!). It took a lot of effort from Sndp, Prat and me to get him out of his negative mode. He seems to have gained stability. Sndp is still holding on to his H1B dreams. I hope he gets through the lottery and eventually gets his papers signed.. unlike me, who, even after qualifying in the lottery, got his papers hold back. Nutu is getting married this june. As Shubham says, he is from a different galaxy altogether. He is not from Milky Way. All he cares is about eating his rice, daal and bengali style fish curry in peace. Stop him from eating fish for 2 days, he will go lunatic. Nyaba.. well.. I dunno.. he was supposed to get an onsite for 2 months which did not happen. I really dunno what are his plans. He is still a kid.
I dont know where we all be after five years. Me, Shubham, Poppins, Den2 have taken a path which totally different from the path of the others I mentioned above. I really dont know whether we will be able to conclude who took the right decision. Me and Shubham keep discussing, that may be we are missing the finer joys of life. We are missing the long addas at our home town. I miss being taken care by my parents, I miss being near to them. I miss the long walks at college street, searching for books. I miss the christmas eve at Park Street. I miss drinking beer with all those buddies at kolkata. I miss the heated political discussions over a cup of tea. I wish I had all that. I wish allowed all those little pieces of fun. Bangalore does not give me all these. But Bangalore has given me something else. You know what is the most important thing Bangalore gives? It supplies fuel. It supplies fuel for the dreams of all the ordinary students like me, sudipto and bhaskar. People like me, who despite being a non-IIT engineer can actually get to work in developing eNBs for 4G telecomm technology like LTE. Whereas most of my college mates are either doing some stupid maintenance work on Mainframes, or writing some SQL query which even a class 7 student can write, given proper training. Shubham is already making it big, working at Freescale, one of the topmost semiconductor companies around. Bangalore allows people like Sudipto and Bhaskar, who are far far away from proper computer degree to earn a salary which is already double of what their parents used to earn. I am sure in 4-5 years, these two blokes will earn anything around 50 grand a month. Now that is some achievement. Their college mates will not earn that even after 10 years of their job, if and when they get it.
Success, Right, Wrong are very much relative terms. I would be really happy if bulu is happy about his decisions in the years to come. I would hate to think that I took a wrong decision as well. Something tells me though, both groups will not be happy. Anyways, what the heck.. lets earn money for now na? :) Lets keep the pursuit for happiness alive..!! I am sure we will all have a story to tell in five years anyhow!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Cynic gets a rush of dream in his head..
Hate is baggage. Life is too short to be pissed of all the time.
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained.. we must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory.. will swell when again touched.. as surely they will be.. by the better angels of our nature.
With these words ended this wonderful movie called "American History X". Its been one of those days when you get surprised by every good things that happen to you. How come every thing that is happening today does not have any droplets of disappointment or despair attached to it? - I wondered over and over again today. Its that strange sensation of seeing something unexpected, something which is good but something you almost forgot to expect from life.
I dont know, maybe my first whole weekend at home after about 7-8 weeks is making me say this, may be am a little overreacting. I dont know. But the fact remains that today, I felt content, I felt happy, for a whole day. I loved my day today. Let me just list down the things I liked about my day.
1. India is playing a dominant and aggressive game at New Zealand. I have never seen an Indian Cricket team that is looking so confidant, so consistent, so sure, so aggressive for over such a long period of time. Touch wood.
2. I liked the biriyani at Lazeez today.
3. My Laptop has been facing some issues for last few months. Its getting heated up way too much and way too fast. To get it serviced at the HP service centre would have costed at least 1500 to 2000 grands. But I met a "Bong Knight" today at the service centre who agreed to do it in a much much nominal price.. of the book though..!! Now, please dont make me feel guilty about this. I mean, the Laptop just needs to get the fan cleaned up a little. No company deserves to get paid 1500 bucks for this. HP service renewal takes 5500 bucks, and the contract has to be renewed every year. This is totally shitty. This guy is my and my friends' Knight with shining armor now, as far as Laptop problems are concerned, that is.
4. Spent three hours at the Enigma tonight. Its my most pub in Bangalore. There are few better ones in terms of the crowd and the DJ, but this one is absolute value for money. Just what a software techie needs in times of recession, isnt it? :)
5. I saw my heart throb, Koel Mallick's bengali movie today :) Yippie, I am in love with her since the college days, and this is the frst movie I have seen of her. can you imagine how great that feeling was? :) The movie is called "Bor asbe ekhuni" (The Groom will arrive soon).
6. I spent 24 hours without thinking anything about matters next code release, code coverage in Unit Testing, Module Test reports for my code. That is such a big relief.
7. I watched American History X. Loved it.
8. Spent hours gossiping with friends today. This is the best stress reliever a man can get you know, chatting/gossiping with friends is the ultimate stress buster in life.
Gosh.. I wish I stay this cheerfull for the most of days from now on. Last few months has really been tough for me. I learnt so much about myself in those times. I took a lot of effort out of me to get through that period, I guess the best way to face bad and sad times is to stop worrying about it and grin your through. Thats something I learnt from my hero, Lance Armstrong. You cant fight bad times, they are like cyclones. There is no use trying to fight and defeat them. You just have to bite your teeth and go through the pain. Take the blows, it will end, sooner or later. I just hope the bad times are almost over. Actually after the G20 summit the world economy to is trying to kick up again. Last week the Indian sensex comfortably stayed on the better side of that important 10k mark. The US stock looked buoyant too. Hope there are the signs of good things to come.
Life indeed, is too short to be pissed off all the time. Its just not worth it.
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained.. we must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory.. will swell when again touched.. as surely they will be.. by the better angels of our nature.
With these words ended this wonderful movie called "American History X". Its been one of those days when you get surprised by every good things that happen to you. How come every thing that is happening today does not have any droplets of disappointment or despair attached to it? - I wondered over and over again today. Its that strange sensation of seeing something unexpected, something which is good but something you almost forgot to expect from life.
I dont know, maybe my first whole weekend at home after about 7-8 weeks is making me say this, may be am a little overreacting. I dont know. But the fact remains that today, I felt content, I felt happy, for a whole day. I loved my day today. Let me just list down the things I liked about my day.
1. India is playing a dominant and aggressive game at New Zealand. I have never seen an Indian Cricket team that is looking so confidant, so consistent, so sure, so aggressive for over such a long period of time. Touch wood.
2. I liked the biriyani at Lazeez today.
3. My Laptop has been facing some issues for last few months. Its getting heated up way too much and way too fast. To get it serviced at the HP service centre would have costed at least 1500 to 2000 grands. But I met a "Bong Knight" today at the service centre who agreed to do it in a much much nominal price.. of the book though..!! Now, please dont make me feel guilty about this. I mean, the Laptop just needs to get the fan cleaned up a little. No company deserves to get paid 1500 bucks for this. HP service renewal takes 5500 bucks, and the contract has to be renewed every year. This is totally shitty. This guy is my and my friends' Knight with shining armor now, as far as Laptop problems are concerned, that is.
4. Spent three hours at the Enigma tonight. Its my most pub in Bangalore. There are few better ones in terms of the crowd and the DJ, but this one is absolute value for money. Just what a software techie needs in times of recession, isnt it? :)
5. I saw my heart throb, Koel Mallick's bengali movie today :) Yippie, I am in love with her since the college days, and this is the frst movie I have seen of her. can you imagine how great that feeling was? :) The movie is called "Bor asbe ekhuni" (The Groom will arrive soon).
6. I spent 24 hours without thinking anything about matters next code release, code coverage in Unit Testing, Module Test reports for my code. That is such a big relief.
7. I watched American History X. Loved it.
8. Spent hours gossiping with friends today. This is the best stress reliever a man can get you know, chatting/gossiping with friends is the ultimate stress buster in life.
Gosh.. I wish I stay this cheerfull for the most of days from now on. Last few months has really been tough for me. I learnt so much about myself in those times. I took a lot of effort out of me to get through that period, I guess the best way to face bad and sad times is to stop worrying about it and grin your through. Thats something I learnt from my hero, Lance Armstrong. You cant fight bad times, they are like cyclones. There is no use trying to fight and defeat them. You just have to bite your teeth and go through the pain. Take the blows, it will end, sooner or later. I just hope the bad times are almost over. Actually after the G20 summit the world economy to is trying to kick up again. Last week the Indian sensex comfortably stayed on the better side of that important 10k mark. The US stock looked buoyant too. Hope there are the signs of good things to come.
Life indeed, is too short to be pissed off all the time. Its just not worth it.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Missing home
One more March 31st crosses over. This one was a long one. The US recession has really started eating up in the minds of the IT folks world over. Hopefully the beginning of the new fiscal year will bring with it a better luck for the Economy.
Its not at all easy to keep pushing yourself against the tide. In my personal life I am have been doing just for more than three months now. Working in Kyocera is not helping matters. This organisation is probably one of the least organized in the world. A lot of stuffs are painfully too ad hoc. People plan the deliverables by taking into account 10-12 hours of work even during the weekends. After about three years of work in the Industry, I have come to know one simple truth, if you BELIEVE you can do a job in 10 days, ask for 15. Here, if they believe they can do a job in 10 days, they will convince themselves that they can work for 2 hours more everyday and finish the job in 7 days. On top of that, people will decide that they will come and work in weekends as well. So they commit for 5 days to finish the stuff. Absolutely horrendous affair.
There is one perpetual problem with the Indian IT people. Especially managers. Here people dont believe in being a MASTER. They would rather have a bunch of jack-asses, who they will call JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES. If someone is good in doing work A, they will put him into work B and in work C, asking him to excel in that as well. No one understands that it is not like selling Sarees, where if you can sell Benarasi you can sell Mysore Silk as well.
Its okay to work in a over pressurised, over tight, over strained schedule for one month or two months, when the saga becomes longer lasting, things start to get irksome. I myself try to keep up the good spirits and stay as much as possible at home on weekends. Things do not always go that way though. One Sunday I was called to office at 9pm. I had to work all through the night, without an iota of sleep, came out of office only at 10pm on monday night. Sleepless nights are like a routine here. Somehow I have been able to control the damage a lot onto me. But still, the journey has not been very pleasurable.
Dreams come with a lot of costs. Yesterday we achieved 3Mbps on Live Videostreaming using L2 and L3 integrated together. Thats quite an achievement. The cost we have paid is pretty big too.
Right now I stand in a drenched phase of my life. I have learnt a lot in the last 6 months at Kyocera. Most important of all lessons is that I have convinced myself that my capabilities and qualities is in no way inferior to that of folks who are working on Product companies, at least in India. That was a question who answer I HAD to find out. That a main reason for me to leave the comfort zone of Wipro.
But right now I need a little rest. I am desperate of one sabbatical. I am desperate to be amongst the people I love so much. I miss my parents and friends so much now. I wish I could fly like a bird and see them right away..!! I have to wait till the end of this month though.. I miss my home. I miss a little smile in my life.
Its not at all easy to keep pushing yourself against the tide. In my personal life I am have been doing just for more than three months now. Working in Kyocera is not helping matters. This organisation is probably one of the least organized in the world. A lot of stuffs are painfully too ad hoc. People plan the deliverables by taking into account 10-12 hours of work even during the weekends. After about three years of work in the Industry, I have come to know one simple truth, if you BELIEVE you can do a job in 10 days, ask for 15. Here, if they believe they can do a job in 10 days, they will convince themselves that they can work for 2 hours more everyday and finish the job in 7 days. On top of that, people will decide that they will come and work in weekends as well. So they commit for 5 days to finish the stuff. Absolutely horrendous affair.
There is one perpetual problem with the Indian IT people. Especially managers. Here people dont believe in being a MASTER. They would rather have a bunch of jack-asses, who they will call JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES. If someone is good in doing work A, they will put him into work B and in work C, asking him to excel in that as well. No one understands that it is not like selling Sarees, where if you can sell Benarasi you can sell Mysore Silk as well.
Its okay to work in a over pressurised, over tight, over strained schedule for one month or two months, when the saga becomes longer lasting, things start to get irksome. I myself try to keep up the good spirits and stay as much as possible at home on weekends. Things do not always go that way though. One Sunday I was called to office at 9pm. I had to work all through the night, without an iota of sleep, came out of office only at 10pm on monday night. Sleepless nights are like a routine here. Somehow I have been able to control the damage a lot onto me. But still, the journey has not been very pleasurable.
Dreams come with a lot of costs. Yesterday we achieved 3Mbps on Live Videostreaming using L2 and L3 integrated together. Thats quite an achievement. The cost we have paid is pretty big too.
Right now I stand in a drenched phase of my life. I have learnt a lot in the last 6 months at Kyocera. Most important of all lessons is that I have convinced myself that my capabilities and qualities is in no way inferior to that of folks who are working on Product companies, at least in India. That was a question who answer I HAD to find out. That a main reason for me to leave the comfort zone of Wipro.
But right now I need a little rest. I am desperate of one sabbatical. I am desperate to be amongst the people I love so much. I miss my parents and friends so much now. I wish I could fly like a bird and see them right away..!! I have to wait till the end of this month though.. I miss my home. I miss a little smile in my life.
Monday, March 30, 2009
A small product of a long sleepless night :)
Amar eii din.. Amaar eii raat..
Bose ekaki, banache ajuhaat
Chokher sopno, moner saadh
Aj khorache.. bolche THAAKK
Tomar eii din, tomar eii raat..
Kajol pora chokhe, cholona nigghat
Chokher vasha.. sorirer vasha
Prolovoner haatchaani, nishpaap chaunite Dhaka
Avijog.. Avimaan..
Duurbyabohaar.. Asommaan
Bojhanor chesta, Mananor chesta
Sob i aaj NISHFOL, SOB I aaj.. BRITHAA..!!
Amaader se din.. Amaader se raat,
Tomar thot, amaar haat..
Monvolano sopno, abujh asha
Aporinoto chinta, nichok morichiikaa
Sopner proti taan, valo naa
Vobisshot sundor ta mene neoa, valo naa
Sopner jogot, se sudhu choraabali..
Se tomay tanbe.. prodhaan choritre j,, EKTI NAARI..!!
Raat jege dekhona sopno, ghumao borong
Diner belate cheye dekho, ramdhanur saat ta rong
Bose ekaki, banache ajuhaat
Chokher sopno, moner saadh
Aj khorache.. bolche THAAKK
Tomar eii din, tomar eii raat..
Kajol pora chokhe, cholona nigghat
Chokher vasha.. sorirer vasha
Prolovoner haatchaani, nishpaap chaunite Dhaka
Avijog.. Avimaan..
Duurbyabohaar.. Asommaan
Bojhanor chesta, Mananor chesta
Sob i aaj NISHFOL, SOB I aaj.. BRITHAA..!!
Amaader se din.. Amaader se raat,
Tomar thot, amaar haat..
Monvolano sopno, abujh asha
Aporinoto chinta, nichok morichiikaa
Sopner proti taan, valo naa
Vobisshot sundor ta mene neoa, valo naa
Sopner jogot, se sudhu choraabali..
Se tomay tanbe.. prodhaan choritre j,, EKTI NAARI..!!
Raat jege dekhona sopno, ghumao borong
Diner belate cheye dekho, ramdhanur saat ta rong
Sunday, January 4, 2009
The first post of 2009.
I was on leave since 31st night. I welcomed the new year silently in my cubicle. It was not that I HAD to do it. I could have left the desk at around 11pm. I was anyway too drained to do any work after that. But I decided to stay back. I wanted to welcome the new year sitting in my cubicle. I know I do not quite enjoy my life at Kyocera. Its not quite the same as Wipro. Life at Wipro in general and ITPL in particular was vibrant. It used to breathe life. I had so many friends out there. Working out late was fun. You would work for the team happily and stay late happily for them. Its not quite the same here. Global village is pretty dull and colorless place to work. I know that compared to the hip and urban and international life style of ITPL any place will feel dull and boring. But there is a mundane air around global village. A place situated almost in the middle of a desert. Well in a indigenous village actually. There is no direct transport to the place, there are no good restaurants nearby. The whole place just sucks.
So why did I stayed at office and welcomed new year from there? I do not enjoy the ambience here. I miss my pals at Wipro. I miss the rocking life of ITPL. I miss the ITPL morning shuttles. I miss people like Anish, Raksheshji, Sanjeevji, Madhu, Georji, Soumya. I miss my life at Motorola ODC. I totally hate my life at work in Kyocera. So why did I?
To be frank, I have not grasped it totally why. Things that our subconscious mind decides is pretty tough for us to analyze. I guess why I did it was because I wanted to tell myself that its okay to be NOT-SO-HAPPY always. I know its a little too complex to explain or understand. But believe me, I know what I am speaking. Over the last couple of days I have been doing a lot of soul-searching. It is of the same level as I used to do while I was in class eleven and twelve. These days I have been mourning the loss of a friend from my life. A person who was special in my heart. Someone whom I loved and cared for more than me. Someone who made me feel like I felt long long time back. Loosing a person I love was never easy for me. In any case I am a little sulking guy. And well, lets face it, a little pessimistic at times too. So when I lost such a person again, I got a little scared.
I was really not very sure how to handle things again. Well on one hand I was not really liking the ambience at my work. To make matters worse, I got shouted and misunderstood and abused and even cursed by the person whom I cared and loved so much. I really had to do some soul searching to get things in control u see.
Thankfully God was there with me this time around. Thinking about Kyocera, one part of me kind of shouted - "Hey you can not get everything in life dude, God can not give you ALL". Yeah.. that was correct. I mean I really did put three things on highest priority while deciding on a move-on to Kyocera -
1. Work experience on LTE
2. Exposure to product development life cycle
3. Higher salary
Here I was, having all the three. So why now crib about the life at kyocera? There was no point doing so was there? That thought started the chain reaction of putting everything into perspective for me. What do I want from life? Do I want a life of Meaning or a life of Happiness? As much as all of us want to have the best of both the worlds, its not always possible. For the time being a life of Happiness would have to give way to the life of MEANING. Kyocera is not something I hav to carry on with me for the rest of my life. Its just a phase of my life. An experience I wanted to have, to give my professional life some meaning. I have to show respect to that wish.
For the other big tragedy. Well strangely I was not that remorseful. Thankfully I was not cheated this time. That does not lessen the pain of getting ruthlessly abused and even cursed by the person you love, though. But I can handle this. I mean, my own relatives had a past of hurting me and my family. I saw one of my dad's best friend cheating my dad and making unethical use of our house. You put trust on people and they betray you. When that happens, in a way you tend to get angry at yourself. I get angry for trusting that person. You get angry of the moments of closeness you felt with that person, and then realizing that it was all FAKE. Me and my parents could not handle that. We had to leave Barasat. I could not handle that. I still run away from Durgapur. Compared to that, this is manageable. Here I was, putting FRIENDSHIP and TRUST and CARE above my personal feelings. In return I get lack of trust, abuse, curse. So whose fault, whose shortcoming was it? Surely not mine. I promised her something back in the starry nights of july,2008. Lord knows I gave my best, everything I could to abide by that. If the opposite person is not sensible and understanding enough to give respect to that, its her problem. Isn't it? As of me, I am so glad to have gone through the last six months. For one, I realized that a heart which was torn in the teen age days has actually grown green. It has not forgotten the emotions that make our make life so colorfull. Feelings like love, friendship. I realized that I have the capability to again love a girl. I know I kept my promise. I know I am a GOOD PERSON. Curses, abuses, misunderstandings of a person whose life is in shambles right now is not going to change that.
So what that her heart did not have the capability to trust you Shaan? So what if she could never see you beyond the mere fact that you were in love with her? So what if she feels that when you LOVE someone, you demand things? So what if she does not realize that the real celebration of LOVE is not in TAKING, but in GIVING. So what? Will that take away the facts? NO. It is not.
I will cherish 2008. It made me take some bold decisions. If I look back at last year and thing about my personal life, two moments stand out. I remember the day when I decided to call a shot and get out of my comfort zone at Wipro. I knew I had built up a good reputation at Wipro. Securing the third position during the training, getting rated "Exceeds Expectation" in both 1st and 2nd year, being in the good book of managers. I was secure. But the little GEEKY engineer in me wanted to go out of that zone and explore other possibilities, I wanted to taste some other things. So I decided to come to Kyocera. I also remember the day when I wrote a small letter to a cute friend of mine, a person I knew barely for a month then. I knew I was a lil stuck on her. I was not sure that the torn heart of mine would be able to cope up. Won't I start pretending to her? Will I be able to take a blow if I do not get my love reciprocated? Am I strong and mature enough to handle that? Will I be able to put FRIENDSHIP first. I was not sure I could. I wrote a letter in regret saying that we should not talk again - I have problems of my own. But right after I pressed the "send" button, a feeling struck me that I am going to lament for the rest of my life that I did not let my mind get okay. So I decided to have a go at this. Somehow I convinced her to neglect that letter. Today, when I am at the receiving end of her abuses, I am not sorry for me. I do not feel fear about how I am going to cope with this. I do not lament my decision. I gave it my all. I was always honest about my feelings to her. I know that. Lord knows that. My heart does not have to take shelters with the fear of getting hurt by others. It still believes in LOVE. Puts the other person ahead all the times. It has grown up, it has grown green.
What more could I have asked for from 2008? Gosh I got goosebumps.. never thought I could be thinking maturely.. not so much :) 2009 has also started in a good note..touchwood. Got myself a Canon SX110-IS camera. My first attempt towards cultivating the long-nourished desire of pursuing digital photography :) This is something my heart has wished for sometime now. Lets do it! :) Got a cool sweat shirt as well. Ohh and yes, yesterday sent a cute gift to Sndp and bulu.. its a movie called "Seven Pounds". If you are reading this and have not seen it yet, go watch it!
Well thats it for today then. First post of 2009. Wonder where I will be same time next year. We will see that wont we? :) I pray to You, GOD, to please keep blessing my parents. I pray to You, GOD, to please keep me healthy, strong, compassionate and wise. I pray to You, GOD, to please allow me to keep looking after my parents and caring for my friends in the best way possible. I pray to You, GOD, for my country men. I pray that there will no war between us and pakistan. I pray that Peace and Humanity and Sensibility win over all Odds.
I pray to You, GOD, to please put a smile on each of our face, all though 2009.
I LOVE YOU GOD. Thank you for looking after me so much.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
The shutter should not come down. And it won't..
I wrote the post below on last Sunday. Then for some reason decided against posting it. But then.. I think I SHOULD post it. After all, its a really special one for me. I know most of you will have no idea what I am talking about here.. This one is only for ME and no one else. We are allowed to be a little selfish isn't it? :)
***************************************************************************************************************************************
I wish I had a sub-conscious mind who was like that. I remember waking up at 7:32 am tomorrow. Dressed up and got ready within a timespan of well.. give or take NINE HUNDRED SECONDS, and got into the office cab at 5 to 8.
I came back to home at 5 am this morning. Was feeling a lil hungry so had a breakfast of cookies and a lil chocolate.. the only other option I had was kellog's cornflakes but then I was not fancying the idea of heating the milk. I was not feeling sleepy.
I was feeling a little alarmed. Not that I was thinkin a lot about it in the last 24 hours or so.. but now I was home after working for twenty hours in office and it was 5 am n the morning and I was not feeling like going to bed. I kinda panicked a lil. I rushed to bed.
Sleep was not very deep as well. Well you cant sleep deep if every hour people drop in at the flat.. from newspaper guy to work-maid to land lady. Anyways.. I was sleeping till 2 o clock. Felt hungry. Very hungry. Last meal was on friday noon. Went out to a chinese restaurant beside BTM Layout fly over. Galloped a plateful of chinese chopsuey and a sweet lime soda. Came back to room, watched 4 movies till 2 am again. Going out to get a couple of Cranberry juice bottles and a quarter of Vodka punctuated the proceedings.
So there you have it.. It was not so bad a day after all. Just goes to show that people can not take your respect out of your system. If my inner conscience is not sorry or ashamed or guilty, you were not wrong. I did what I had to. I did it the best way possible. I gave it my best shot towards maintaining a friendship. Sadly, in the end.. it perhaps got too much complicated.. too much idealistic.. to be able to be accepted by people of this cynical world. Thats okkay.. I know I do not belong to this world. I knew I had to keep a veil on myself.. not reveal the REAL me to the world. Because if I do.. people will ridicule it, hurt it, ridicule it.
So what do I do now? Keep the veil down? Some part of me is advising against that. I am not bleeding like the 1st time after all. In fact I am quite proud of my efforts. I knew I cared. So what the other person did not understand it.. So what people could not keep the trust on. Thats their problem, not mine. I will continue to be the best person I can be. I will not pull the shutters down this time.
I have faith on you Lord. Your ways of giving pain has a inner teaching to it. After all, some lessons are best learnt through PAIN. All through these 6 months, I learnt one awesome lesson - I am a GOOD person. No matter what people say, even if that person was the one most valuable to you.
Keep your chin yup Shaan. And dont you pull the shutter down again. Live live in the best way you can. Be the best person for the people around you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
